Rewrite: A Half-breed's Life 1
by Xj9
Summary: At age four, Gohan is taken by Raditz and brought to a camp where Gohan is taught how to fight. Five years later, Vegeta, Raditz and Nappa are back to take Gohan away again, and they expect the half-saiyan to help them purge planets. Gohan resists from the beginning, but as time progresses he finds out that playing by his comrades' rules is the only way to survive.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey you! **

**This is the new version of my very first story A Half-breed's Life. This version is going to be very different from the first version. If you've read the original version, you might recognize some scenes but even the scenes that I am keeping will be very different. **

**This first chapter is pretty much the first and second episode of the Saiyan saga, but just a little different, which is why I updated the second chapter as well. That's where my story starts. **

**I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Dbz or any of the characters.**

**Chapter 1. Unexpected Company.**

This story started on a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing their daily songs, the animals were working on finding their next meal while the sounds of the streaming water could be heard. All these were the usual sounds, heard pretty much every day.

Today, there was one sound that most animals usually did not hear, especially the ones who lived very deep in the forest and were not used to interacting with humans.

"Gohan!" Animals looked up at the sound of a human's voice. Most animals casually continued their business after a few seconds, others kept an eye out in case the source of the noise would come their way and pose a threat.

Goku was not planning on being a threat to anyone though, unless they posed a threat to his son first. The man leaned forward a bit, easily keeping his balance on the fast moving fluffy yellow cloud and cupped his hands in front of his mouth: "Gohan!"

He made a concerned face while his hands dropped to his sides. "Where is he?" He muttered quietly. He did not want to go back home without his son or his wife would surely kill him.

"Daddy!" Goku looked down when he heard the voice that belonged to his one and only son. The man knelt down and looked over the edge of the cloud. He gasped audibly when he realized his son was in the stream, clinging onto a branch as if his life depended on it, which it did obviously.

"Gohan!" Goku made the cloud fly low enough for him to grab his son, but the young boy was not looking at him. He tried to grab his son but the distance was a too big and he had to back down when the stream disappeared under a mountain. Choosing to fly over the mountain, Goku urged the cloud on as his eyes were focusing on the other edge of the mountain. He would be able to see his son again once they passed this mountain and this time he would get a hold of the boy.

Goku did not expect to see a waterfall, running down the mountain, probably taking his only son with it.

"Daddy!" Gohan's branch appeared and disappeared very quickly, dropping down to the water. Goku watched the young boy fall down and was about to jump after him when… he heard crying, coming from the somewhere above him.

The man looked up, frowning slightly when he realized that his son was sitting on a small branch that was sticking out of the mountain. He let himself sit down and the cloud slowly flew up while Goku studied his young son. How did that boy get there?

Goku watched his son cry for a few seconds until the younger realized he was being watched. The boy looked up, met his father's eyes, held his gaze for a moment, and then jumped right into his father's strong arms. The boy cried and cried, feeling relieved and safe.

"How did you get here?" Goku wondered out loud. The man tightened his grip on his son, deciding never to let the boy go again. "Gohan. Are you okay?" He asked.

Gohan gave a small nod, the tears leaving small wet spots on his cheeks. His eyes met his father's eyes again and the boy's lower lip started to tremble. "Daddy. I lost my hat." He whimpered.

Goku, who found the hat earlier, let the small red object land on his son's head carefully. "No. You didn't lose it. It's on your head, silly." Goku replied with a smile. "So, what do you say we get you cleaned up and ready to go to Master Roshi's house, huh? You'll get to meet all my friends."

Gohan smiled up at his father, his tears and sorrows forgotten. "Okay!"

***** DBZ *** DBZ *****

At the exact same time, a space pod landed somewhere on Earth, creating a big crater. The door of the space pod opened and a tall bulky man stepped out of it. The man cracked his own neck for a moment, placing a hand against the side of his neck. He took a moment for himself, stretching his body entirely. Sitting in a small space like that for months could take its toll on a body.

The man frowned when the machine that was covering his ear entirely, with a small green glass extending to the front, covering the man's eye, beeped loudly. The man pressed on a small button on the side of the machine.

"Raditz?" A voice said in his ear. "Did you land or what?"

"Yes, I did." Raditz jumped up and down a few times to test the gravity level. He smirked when he realized how low the gravity here was. "This planet is pathetic. The gravity is so low I feel like I'm weightless." He floated up as he said this, landing in front of a terrified farmer who witnessed the landing of his space pod. The farmer yelled something in the native language of the planet. Raditz ignored him and the farmer shot a gun at him.

Raditz caught the bullet and examined it with interest. "What's happening over there?" The voice asked through the machine, sounding impatient.

"Nothing." Raditz tossed the bullet in the air and caught it again. "Just a human who thinks he can hurt me." The man looked at the bullet again before gazing at the man. "Is that the best you can do?" He did not wait for a reply and sent the bullet flying back to the man. He watched with interest how the bullet easily penetrated the man's body and killed him instantly.

"Very weak specimens. One bullet aimed for the heart killed him." Raditz reported to his comrades. "Whatever happened here cannot make up for Kakarot failing to purge this planet. Whatever stopped him was not human." The Saiyan stepped closer and studied the man's corpse. "Or he is really really weak."

"Find him and we'll find out. We didn't ask you to go there and speculate. Get some answers." The voice snarled at him. "And hurry."

"Yes sir." Raditz replied before pressing on the button again. He looked up and flew up until he was floating high enough the oversee a large area. "Where are you, little brother…" He muttered to himself.

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

Meanwhile Goku landed on a small island in the middle of the ocean. He took a moment to study the pink house, the letters on the wall, and the small beach area that surrounded the house. He could hear his friends already, laughing and talking cheerfully. The man grinned as he placed his son on the ground.

Gohan grabbed hold of the man's pants while Goku cupped his hands together in front of his mouth and called: "Hey everyone!"

A silence fell in the house, and a second later, a figure appeared in the doorway.

"Leave it up to you to get everyone out of the house to greet you instead of you coming to us." A young female commented as she walked closer. Her blue eyes sparkled as she studied her old friend. "Hey Goku! I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, Bulma." Goku answered politely, and he really did miss her. It was hard to not miss someone like her.

A monk put up his hand when he saw his best friend. "What took you so long, huh? The party is almost over."

Bulma was already staring at the young boy that was standing near his father's legs. "Goku.. What's with the kid?" She asked. A smile appeared on her face when Gohan made himself smaller and tried to hide behind his father's legs. Goku, however, stepped aside almost instantly so that Gohan could not hide behind him.

"Are you babysitting for money or something?" The monk asked, looking up.

"He's my son." Goku said, sounding proud. The humans stared at him after he said this. Gohan awkwardly looked up at his father. Was there something wrong?

Bulma was the first one to recover. "Wow! Goku. A son, my gosh.." She said as she walked closer and knelt down in front of the young boy. "So, how old are you, little one?" She asked, smiling.

Gohan looked at his father for approval before looking back at Bulma. "I am four." He said in a very serious voice, showing the number by extending four fingers.

Bulma's smile widened. This boy was so cute. "Are you going to be a brave fighter like your father?" She reached out and tousled the boy's hair.

"No." Goku replied. "Chi-chi doesn't let him train." He sounded and looked disappointed. "She always makes him study and says that martial arts is a waste of time." He sighed and shook his head slowly. "I've tried to train him in secret though. Gohan seems to like it."

"Hey he's your son. I'll bet he is interested in martial arts." Krillin seemed a bit annoyed by Goku's statement. "And I don't know if I like being called a waste of time."

Bulma got up and brushed the sand off her knees. "Come on, Krillin. You cannot expect everyone to agree with your lifestyle. Live with it."

Goku smiled at his friends' antics. He enjoyed spending time with them and deep down he wondered why it took him so long to meet up with them again. He should do it more often.

The horrible feeling of a dark power made Goku look up. Something was not right. He had felt this before. Many times actually. Hatred, anger, darkness. It was close. Dangerously close.

His gaze moved up to the sky, his eyes searching for the source of this horrible feeling. Piccolo used to feel similar to this but since the Namek had fought him years ago, the warrior felt less dark. Not like this..

His friends seemed to realize that Goku was worried about something. The only one who was oblivious was Gohan. Master Roshi stepped closer. "Goku, what's wrong?"

Goku did not get the time to reply. The dark force was too close, way too close. In fact, it landed on the island right now.

"Ah, Kakarot. I finally found you." The tall man seemed to be interested in Goku only. His long black spiky hair moved along with him as he studied his surroundings. Even though he came for Goku, he would keep an eye on the others too.

Goku sent a glance in the direction of his friends. "Who?" He asked uncertainly.

"You." The man snarled in response. He certainly was not very patient.

Goku rubbed over the back of his head. "Okay… So… Who are you?" He decided that it would be best to keep this man talking. The man looked aggressive and even though Goku did not mind a sparring match once in a while, this bulky man did not seem like the casual spar kind of guy.

The tall man crossed his arms over each other. "I expected that you would not recognize me. We haven't seen each other in a very long time. Actually, we've never really seen each other." His tail was wagging behind him casually. "Let me introduce myself. I am Raditz. Your big brother."

Goku stepped back, Bulma gasped audibly while Krillin scratched his head. Brothers. They did not look like each other at all.

The full-blooded earth-grown Saiyan was the first one to recover. He stepped forward again and shouted: "I've never seen you before in my life. Why should I believe you?"

Raditz shrugged. "Fine. Then come here and let my tail lock onto yours so…" His eyes were searching for his brother's tail but he stopped talking when he could not find it. "Where's your tail?" He demanded.

"My tail?" Goku asked, looking over his shoulder. Gohan's eyes moved to his own tail before they moved back to Raditz. "My tail was cut off a long time ago.."

"CUT OFF?" Raditz exclaimed. "How could you let them cut off your tail? Are you insane? That's a disgrace to our entire Saiyan race. I can't believe it.." The man placed a hand on his forehead. "Oh, Vegeta is going to kill you…"

"Who?" Goku was even more confused than he was before.

"Vegeta." Raditz replied, sounding very tired and agitated. "Prince Vegeta. Planet Vegeta. Does any of this ring a bell?" Raditz frowned when Goku shook his head. "What did you do? Did you hit your head or something?"

"Yes, I did hit my head when I was a child." Goku still was not sure whether this man was hostile or not. He felt hostile, and he seemed aggressive, but he had not made an aggressive move yet. "That doesn't make your story any more clear."

Raditz placed a hand on his forehead while his tail fell down. "You forgot…" He muttered. "How can you forget everything?" His voice sounded angry again. Goku could only make a helpless gesture. "You were supposed to destroy this planet! You forgot… That's why this planet is still intact.."

"And this planet will stay intact." Goku replied, the warning clearly in his voice. "Leave right now."

"Or what?" Raditz's gaze fell on Goku again. "I can't leave just yet, Kakarot. I came here to fetch you and that's what I'm going to do." The man crossed his arms over each other. "We'll have to fix you up a bit but that's okay." The man's tail curled around his waist again.

"Listen up and listen good. I don't like repeating myself. You are a Saiyan. You are from a planet called Planet Vegeta. We're warriors. The strongest warriors in the entire universe in fact." He was proud of his race. It was easy to see. "We use our strength to aid warlords with their business. The warlords want to sell planets, we get the planets ready for them. We purge them from all live, clean them up and sell them to the highest bidder." He ignored the disgusted glances he was getting from the others. "Our stronger warriors go on missions to purge the planets with stronger inhabitants. Easy planets with weak inhabitants like this one can be handled by one of our infants. That's why we sent you here."

Raditz seemed to enjoy their discomfort. "Only you failed to do your job." The man uncrossed his arms and sighed heavily and exaggeratedly. "I remembered that you were here and that you never returned to us. That's why I came here. You see, we still purge planets and we need all the strong warriors we can get to help us. So I came here in the hopes of finding a new…" Raditz's eyes lingered on Gohan's tail. "..possibly two news recruits. Let me ask you a question, Kakarot, that wouldn't happen to be your son would it?" His eyes made eye-contact with Goku's dark orbs. Gohan tried to hide behind his father's leg.

The man shook his head. "He's not my son. I'm just babysitting him for someone else."

Raditz laughed. "Nice try, but humans don't have tails. Not the kind your son has." Raditz's own tail was wagging behind him once more. He looked like a dog, happy to be where he was, and enjoying himself. "Your son is even more Saiyan than you are… Pathetic really. But you'll have to do… We don't have many options.. Our planet was destroyed years ago. It collided with a meteor and exploded instantly. Only six Saiyans were away at the time of the collision. Including you." The man nodded to Goku. "And now we want to purge a planet but the assignment might be a little too much for just us three. We can handle it but it will be done faster if we have some extra help." The man motioned for Goku to come closer. "What do you say, little brother? Do you want to join us?"

"Me?" Goku asked, raising an eyebrow. "Join you? Never!"

Raditz shrugged. "Too bad." He slowly knelt down as his eyes focused on the half-saiyan. "What about you, kiddo? Do you want to go with your dear uncle?"

Gohan whimpered silently and shook his head while he tried to hide behind his father's leg again. Raditz laughed at his nephew's expense and got up. "That boy is too scared for a Saiyan. You should have taught him better. But now it's too late.." The man stalked closer and leaned over his little brother. "You'll have to trust his upbringing to someone else from now on. You're not as strong as I hoped you would be but we'll manage. Let's get going."

Goku narrowed his eyes. "I'm not coming with you. Find someone else!" He shouted.

The older Saiyan warrior cracked his knuckles. "You've got three seconds to say that you'll come with me or else…. One…" He said this last word very slowly, dragging it out. "Two…"

Goku realized that he did not want to find out what happened when Raditz reached three. The man decided to attack first and pulled back a fist. He tried to punch Raditz in the stomach but his big brother was faster. The warrior moved out of his brother's way, spun around quickly and kneed the younger warrior in his side. Goku could only gasp for air, falling down to his knees, his fists slamming into the soft warm sand.

Gohan squealed and ran to his father but Raditz was faster. The man picked the half-saiyan up on the back of his coat. "Alright, little brother." Raditz raised his voice somewhat because Gohan started to cry. "Why don't we play a little game to see if you're the right man for the job. You have to kill.." Raditz made a thoughtful face. "Let's say… A hundred humans before noon tomorrow. Just leave them here. I'll be back tomorrow for a headcount." Raditz lowered Gohan a little, finding the crying very annoying. "If you do that, I'll leave your son alone and you and I will leave this planet together."

Goku rubbed over his side, still on the ground, while Raditz spoke. "If you fail to do what I told you to do…" Raditz held the young boy a little higher and smirked at him. ".. your son will never see the light of day again. And I'd hate to hurt my dear nephew." Gohan whined and whimpered but everyone on the island ignored him.

"Leave the bodies here. I'll count them tomorrow." Raditz tilted sideways his head as he studied his brother. "Remember, Kakarot. I have your son. We Saiyans are very strong on family bonds but we also believe in punishment, and if you disobey me, your son will be punished for your mistakes."

"Now.." Raditz started to levitate, tightening his grip on the half-saiyan. "I'll have some bonding time with my nephew while you do your job. Have fun." The man laughed loudly before he flew up and flew away, disappearing from their sight.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the second chapter!**

**Chapter 2. Gohan's New Life**

Gohan cried and struggled, pushing against Raditz's strong arm in an attempt to free himself. "Let me go!" He yelled loudly.

Raditz growled in annoyance. "Will you shut up?" He yelled back, still flying in high speed.

Gohan whimpered and made himself smaller. Tears rolled down his cheeks and he did not attempt to hide them. "Please. Let me go?" He cried, feeling awfully sorry for himself. The boy calmed down somewhat and looked up when he realized that he did not get an answer. "Sir? Can you let me go back to my dad?"

"Sorry, kiddo." Raditz slowly shook his head. "Your dad has got to learn a lesson and he'll only try his hardest if I have you." It actually sounded like it made sense, and Raditz said it like he was talking about the weather.

Gohan placed his small hands against Raditz's armor and started to push against it. His arms started shaking after a while, and Raditz just ignored him. The man ignored his whimpers and his cries. He ignored the way Gohan was trying to push against his armor and he pushed away any attempts made by Gohan to crawl up on Raditz's shoulder or down out of Raditz's grip.

"Okay. Stop that or I'll let you fall down!" Raditz patience was wearing very thin. Luckily, this was enough to make Gohan calm down. The boy gave a hesitant glance to the world beneath them and he nodded to sign to Raditz that he understood.

Raditz was very pleased with himself. Gohan was silent now, staring at the world below them as they flew. He did not want to fall down. The man was just about to taunt Gohan for giving up so soon when the boy shrieked loudly and pointed to a large tv-screen. "Look!"

Raditz decided to look at the screen first, before he would punish Gohan for making so much unnecessary noise. He stopped flying and stared at the familiar face on the screen. Goku was standing there in a fighting stance. The man could not read what the text said but he figured that it had something to do with a martial arts tournament, since all the men on the screen were in similar fighting stances.

"That's my dad!" Gohan pointed again. "See how strong he is! Now you're sorry that you were mean to him, huh?"

The corners of Raditz's lips moved up before he continued flying. "Oh, I'm so scared." His reply was layered with so much sarcasm that even Gohan noticed it.

"I want to go home! My dad is the strongest in the world and.."

"See, that's where you go wrong, brat." Raditz interrupted him, pushing against Gohan's forehead with his finger. "Your father might be the strongest warrior on this planet, but I am not from this planet."

Gohan's lower lip trembled right before he started to cry and scream again. "Let me go!" He cried loudly. "I want to go home! Let me go!"

Raditz groaned loudly. "If you open that big mouth of yours one more time I am going to find out if my entire fist fits in there." He showed his large fist and pushed it against Gohan's cheek. The boy pressed his lips tightly together to prevent Raditz from carrying out this threat. Raditz nodded approvingly. Even after he pulled his fist away and looked away from the half-saiyan, Gohan behaved well. He made no sound at all while they flew the rest of the distance.

Landing, Raditz dropped Gohan on the ground. The half-saiyan whimpered when his knees collided with the ground harshly. He quickly looked up when Raditz knelt down next to him. He grabbed Gohan's small arm and rolled up the sleeve so that he could look at his arm. After looking at it, the man's hands moved to Gohan's shoulder to feel how much muscles he had there. The man growled as he leaned on his knee with his elbow.

"Damn it… Kakarot should have done better with you. Such a waste.."

"I didn't ask you to take me away and insult me, you know!" Gohan snarled back, frowning at the man. "Let me go back right now!" Raditz had already gotten up and he walked back to the space pod, ignoring Gohan's cries.

The half-saiyan watched the man walk away. He frowned and opened his mouth to start whining again but closed it when he realized that Raditz was not looking at him. Gohan's eyes moved to the bushes that were located not too far away from him. If he could just… Would he make it? He might be able to hide..

Gohan looked at Raditz again. The man was now messing with the strange machine that was stuck to the side of his head, and he still had his back turned to Gohan. The half-saiyan made a decision. He turned on his heels and ran to the bushes. His heart sank when he heard a horrible laugh coming from behind him but he kept running. Even if he wouldn't make it to the bushes in time, he wanted his uncle to know that he was not giving up just yet.

A shadow loomed over him and he heard a voice awfully close to his ears. "Are you going somewhere?" Raditz was flying above him, seeming very amused with Gohan's attempt to escape. He did not give Gohan any time to answer as he landed in front of the half-saiyan. "Do you know what being a hostage means?" He placed his fists on his hips. "It means that someone has someone else in their possession whom other people want back. And those other people have to do something in order to get that person back." Gohan's lower lip started to tremble but he stayed quiet. "And you would not be a very good hostage if you're not right here with me, would you?"

Gohan slowly nodded. He did not really know why but he did it. Raditz started his way back to the space pod and his tail reached down to grab the back of Gohan's shirt as he passed the half-saiyan, dragging the struggling boy back to the space pod. There he tugged on the boy's shirt to make the half-saiyan fall over. "Stay." He ordered without looking back.

The young boy clenched his fists and got up. "No!" He yelled. Raditz turned around and raised an eyebrow. "You bring me back to my father right now or I'll…"

"Or you'll… What?" Raditz's voice was low and threatening. That alone was enough to make Gohan start to cry loudly. The full-blooded Saiyan made an almost animalistic sound. He stalked closer and grabbed Gohan on his collar. Pushing the boy to the ground, he loomed over Gohan and showed his fist.

Gohan widened his eyes and shook his head when Raditz moved his hand down and forced Gohan to open his mouth as wide as he possibly could. The full-blooded Saiyan felt very satisfied when he heard something crack softly, but he knew it was not enough to break any bones.

Silent tears were streaming down Gohan's temples. His entire body shook as Raditz inspected his mouth. "Maybe if I pull out your tongue, you won't make so much noise anymore.. What do you say?" Raditz's eyes met Gohan's dark orbs. The half-saiyan started to shake even more.

Raditz released him. "Will you be quiet?"

Gohan nodded quickly and Raditz released him, getting up. "Good boy. If you make any noise or try to run away again, I will rip out your tongue. No second chances. No matter how much you cry." He warned. "Got it?" Gohan nodded once more.

Raditz was satisfied with the type of answer and he turned away from the half-saiyan once more. Gohan sat up and pulled his knees up to his chest. He hugged his legs and hid his face behind his legs. His shoulders slowly shook as more tears escaped from him as he thought about the helplessness of the situation.

Raditz sat down on a large rock and groaned softly. Kidnapping the kid might have been a very bad idea. The only thing he accomplished was giving himself a headache. Luckily, the boy was quiet now.

After a while, Gohan got up. The tears were dried up by now. He had cried so much that he was entirely dry now, or at least he felt like he was. The boy made a brave attempt for conversation. He stepped closer to his uncle, who was already glaring at him from the moment he got up.

Ignoring the glare, Gohan's tail wagged behind him in fear but also curiosity. The message the tail was showing was the main reason that Raditz had not barked at the half-saiyan to sit down and be quiet. If the brat wanted to ask something, he would not keep him from that.

"Sir?" He asked hesitantly.

"Raditz." The man replied. "Sir is human word. Not a Saiyan word."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. Just improve. Don't say human things to me. I despise humans."

"But I am a human."

"You're half-human." Raditz said sharply, narrowing his eyes. "You're a Saiyan too."

"But I'm still part human." Gohan insisted, clenching his fists.

"I despise half-breeds even more." Raditz said this so casually that Gohan frowned. It's not that he liked Raditz or that he wanted Raditz to like him, but he just did not like hearing that someone did not like him. "Did you just come here to waste my time or did you have a purpose?"

Gohan slowly shook his head. He hesitated for a moment, wondering how to formulate this question. "What is going to happen if my father does what you say?"

Raditz leaned forwards so he could look into Gohan's eyes. "Then he's coming with me, and you'll never see him again." He enjoyed the fear in Gohan's eyes as he said this.

"Why? What did we ever do to you?" The look in Gohan's eyes changed. The fear was gone, replaced by fire, bravery. Raditz leaned back a bit, surprised by this change in attitude. "Leave us alone! We want nothing to do with you!"

The full-blooded Saiyan gave Gohan an admiring glance. The four year old was standing up to a strong bulky warrior who had threatened him more than once. He had to admit that he was impressed. The man leaned on the rock with one hand and used the other to grab a piece of fruit he had grabbed earlier. He tossed it in Gohan's direction, who managed to catch it.

"You're Saiyans." Raditz replied as he grabbed a second piece of fruit. "You belong with the rest of your race." The man took a bite from the fruit before he continued. "Your heritage is in danger, there's little of it left. It's your duty to your ancestors."

"Then why did you not come for my father sooner?"

"There was no need. I have to admit that I forgot about him."

"You said "you"." Gohan looked up. "Did you just mean my father?"

Raditz tossed the eaten piece of fruit aside while Gohan's was still untouched. He studied Gohan for a moment before answering. "The Saiyan race is a proud race. We don't like it when Saiyans fall in love with aliens. We see it as treason." Gohan looked down at the piece of fruit in his hands. "Your father, on the other hand, did not have a choice. There are no saiyans on this planet.. In a way, it is a great sacrifice. He had to make the horrible decision of creating half-breeds instead of purebloods."

The man did not care in the slightest that Gohan's tail was now hanging limply behind him, indicating that he was feeling sad. "You're an exception and we will treat you as such."

"You were never planning on leaving me here like you promised my father, were you?" Gohan whispered, staring at the ground.

"You're a smart kid." Raditz smirked as he leaned back fully, placing both his hands behind him. "Just hope that my boss will allow you to make the same decision your father has to make."

Gohan slowly sat down. "Your boss?"

"Our leader." Raditz looked up when his scouter beeped. "That's probably him." His hand moved up to press on the receive button but then hesitated. "Do you see the bushes over there. With the apples?" Gohan looked to where Raditz pointed and nodded. "Good. Go grab them."

Gohan looked back at Raditz. "Why?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because I tell you to. Go." Raditz snarled back.

Gohan made a face but decided to listen and walked to the bush. Raditz pressed on the receive button. "Vegeta?" He asked.

"How is it going?"

"It's going pretty well. I saw Kakarot. He looks exactly like I thought he would. He's not as strong as we hoped though." Raditz reported as he grabbed another piece of fruit. "I don't know if all this is worth it." The man pressed on another button and turned his scouter to Gohan, who was still picking apples. Just out of curiosity. The man gauged Gohan's powerlevel, and nearly dropped the piece of fruit when he saw the number on the screen.

"Don't forget that Kakarot is a Saiyan." Vegeta replied, oblivious to Raditz's discovery. "He will grow stronger in no-time. Especially when he is trained by us. Just get him here and I'll decide if he's worth it."

"He has a son.." Raditz said slowly. "I have him right here. Took him to persuade Kakarot into joining us."

"You know what to do with half-saiyans."

"His power level is at 710." Raditz gauged Gohan's level again, raising an eyebrow when the same high number appeared. "He's stronger than his father."

"That must be a malfunction."

"I checked it three times. It's not a malfunction." The full-blooded Saiyan watched as Gohan returned with a couple of apples. The boy was taking his time, and Raditz could understand that. The younger Saiyan probably did not want to spent too much time while being close to his uncle.

"What's he like?"

"Young. He's a typical child. His parents spoiled him. He cries a lot.. But there is something.. He stood up to me. He keeps defending his father's honor. And he's intelligent. Started a conversation with me. He fears me but he is not afraid of me.. which is… admirable.."

"I want to see him. Put him in the space pod so I can have a video chat with him."

Raditz nodded and got up. "Boy." He said, motioning for Gohan to come closer to him. "Leave the apples."

"But I just got them for you!"

Raditz smirked but did not reply. He found it hard to admit it but he did not mind spending time with the young boy, at least when he wasn't acting like a little baby. Gohan dropped the apples on the ground and followed Raditz to the space pod. There he watched with fascination as the man opened the space pod.

"Get in."

"Why?"

Raditz knelt down. "Let me tell you something about the Saiyans. We teach our cubs to respect their elders. All children must obey their parents, and after that they have to obey their closest adult relatives. They are to follow orders without questioning anything or they will be punished severely. Now, I am your uncle. So what do you do when I tell you to get in the Space Pod?"

"But you haven't explained why… EEK." Gohan squealed when Raditz's tail curled around his tail and carried him in the air, only to drop him in the Space Pod. Gohan quickly got up, sending Raditz an admiring glance. "How did you do that without using your hands?"

"Tail carrying him, are you? I knew you would be the kind of person who secretly wants children." Vegeta's sarcastic voice sounded in his ear.

"It was the most efficient way." Raditz replied, as he leaned forward and turned on the computer in the space pod. His scouter beeped and the man looked over his shoulder to find out why it was beeping. "Stay here." Raditz said as he reached up to close the door of the space pod.

"Don't close the door!" Gohan jumped up and tried to run out the space pod but he was too late. The half-saiyan bounced against the pink window with his fists and yelled some things but Raditz wasn't listening to him. The man was making his way out of the crater and disappeared from Gohan's sight.

The young boy yelled some more things and continue to hit the window until his hands started to hurt. After a while he finally sat down, catching his breath and letting out a couple of sniffs. He felt awfully sorry for himself. First he got taken by this horrible smelly man and then the man hurt him and now he was stuck in a chamber that was way too small for his taste.

The boy wiped some tears off his face as he listened to the silence of the space pod. A shadow caught his eye and he looked up, standing when he realized what he saw. His father was floating in the air, looking at him and saying something that the half-saiyan could not understand. The boy started jumping up and down and waving at his father but the man turned his attention to something else that Gohan could not see. He watched as his father floating down to what he assumed the ground.

After this Gohan tried to catch what was going on, but it mainly happened out of his sight. He sometimes saw someone flying across, being thrown or flying there themselves. Flashes of light, followed by earthshattering explosions made the half-saiyan yelp in fear and dread. He knew his father was going to win. His father had to win. There was no mistake. His father was the strongest man alive. Nobody could beat him… Right?

A scream made him look up. His father's voice. What was going on? His father was screaming. He wouldn't stop it. Why would his father be screaming like this? He couldn't see it. He couldn't help. This horrible chamber was in his way. He wanted to help. He wanted to stop the screaming and run to his dad and hug him tightly.

He wanted to…

He needed to…

HE HAD TO

Raditz looked sideways, away from his battered brother, when his scouter beeped. This was the only warning he got before Gohan jumped out of his space pod, creating an explosion and completely destroying the pod.

The man stepped back, his mouth wide open. He'd never seen anyone destroy a space pod before, especially not a child.

"How…?" Raditz did not have time to think. The boy screamed out something that did not register in his mind until the small kid's rather hard head was buried in his stomach. Raditz stumbled back as a horrible pain took over his abdomen and spread throughout his body.

Gohan landed a few feet away from him. The boy slowly got up and looked around, seemingly dazed. What just happened? Gohan and Raditz did not know how similar their thoughts were just now.

"Dad?" Gohan said as he stepped closer to his father. The boy eyed his father's battered body and tears appeared in his eyes again. This was not right. He did not know much about the human body but he did know that this was not right. His father was in bad shape. "Daddy?" He whispered as he stepped closer, his lower lip shaking.

"Gohan…." Goku groaned as he lifted his head. "Run.."

"Wha..?" Gohan stepped closer to his father, his hands raised in an uncertain attempt to help the man. A shadow appeared above him and Gohan turned around, his heartbeat quickening when he realized who was standing there.

"Hey.. Boy.." Raditz growled as he stepped closer. "Where is all that power you just had?"

Gohan made a confused face. "Power? I don't have any power.." He said in a rather soft voice. Raditz growled and backhanded the boy harshly, forcing the kid to fly away and land on the hard ground several feet away.

Raditz stared at the unconscious boy for a few seconds before he turned to Goku. The younger warrior was trying to get up but he was wounded very badly. Raditz studied his brother for a few seconds before his eyes moved back to his nephew.

"Did you train your son?" Raditz asked, his attention turning back to the younger Saiyan. Goku slowly shook his head and was about to say something but Raditz did not give him the chance. The man extended his hand to the Earth-raised warrior, a smirk forming on his face. "Good night, little brother." He stated before he released the blast. The last thing he saw of his younger brother was how the man's eyes widened when he realized what was going on.

Raditz turned just in time to catch a punch from Piccolo. The two fought for a bit but Piccolo had gotten wounded earlier in the battle and this wound was slowing him down now. Therefore, Raditz managed to get the upper hand rather quickly and he fired several blasts to make sure Piccolo was killed.

After this he eyed his surroundings, feeling rather tired. The man stepped closer to his nephew, who was lying unconscious on the ground. "Vegeta?" Raditz asked as he looked up at the sky.

"You made some rash decisions there. Decided that we can't use your brother anymore without my permission etc."

"I'm sorry, Vegeta, but I can really see potential in his son. He is already stronger than his father and it will be easier to tame a young boy than a grown man, right?" Raditz asked as he knelt down and picked up the young half-saiyan.

Gohan continued to sleep as Raditz typed in some things in his remote control. "Kakarot came here in a space pod, right?" He asked no one in particular. "So that should still be on the planet…"

His remote showed the coordinates of where the other space pod could be and Raditz immediately flew away, taking the half-saiyan with him. Landing near the broken space pod, Raditz made a disapproving sound when he realized the condition of it.

"Don't risk it." Vegeta's voice sounded from the scouter. "It's an older model. We don't know if it will survive the impact of the landing."

"So what am I supposed to do? Share my extra pod with the brat?" Raditz complained, frowning as he reached inside his armor and produced a small round object. The man placed the round object on the ground. He grabbed a small white machine from his armor. The machine was similar to a remote control but it had just two buttons on it, a red and a black one. The man pointed the machine at the small white round object and pressed on the black button. A laser shot from the machine and within a second the small object had grown into a normal-sized space pod. Raditz put the machine back in his armor.

"It will be a cozy trip." Vegeta's sarcastic response made Raditz growl.

Raditz opened the space pod. He sat down, still carrying Gohan, and placed the half-saiyan on the floor. After typing in the destination, he leaned back and studied the sleeping boy.

This was going to be a long journey…

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

Gohan woke up, yawning as he stretched his body. The boy leaned on his hands and pushed his upper body up, frowning a little when he realized that he was not lying in his bed. Where was he?

The first thing that Gohan saw was Raditz's large boot. He looked up, met Raditz's eyes and crawled back, far away from the scary man, until he bumped against the glass window with his back.

Raditz wasn't actually looking at him. His eyes were closed, arms crossed and he looked like a giant for the young half-saiyan. "Be quiet." He snarled without opening his eyes.

Gohan looked around. He turned and widened his eyes when he realized what he saw. Blackness. Stars. Planets. Flashing by before they even registered in his mind. He placed both his hands on the window, still not really sure what he was seeing.

"Where are we going?" Gohan asked, looking over his shoulder.

"I told you to be quiet."

"You kidnap me while I sleep and you expect me to not have questions." Gohan turned around fully. "Where are we going?"

Raditz opened his eyes. "Do you want me to smack you?" He threatened as he raised a hand.

Gohan put up two fists as he sat on his knees. He looked ready to fight. Raditz was taken aback by this sudden display of courage and he lowered his hand. "We are going to the planet where our comrades are. That's where we will decide what we're going to do with you."

"But.."

"Now." Raditz silenced him by raising his own voice. "I've been knocking you out since we started this journey. Do you want me to do that again?" Gohan shook his head. "Then be quiet."

The half-saiyan nodded and sat fully. Raditz closed his eyes again and crossed his arms over each other, only making himself appear scarier and more dangerous. The silence continued as they travelled.

The rest of the journey was uneventful. Gohan realized that he had been testing the patience of his uncle and he knew that it wouldn't be long before the man would resort to physical violence.

Suddenly, the space pod started shaking heavily. Gohan looked up. "What's happening?" He asked, his breathing quickening.

"We're just landing. Calm down." Raditz hadn't even opened his eyes.

Gohan placed his hands on the ground. "Is it supposed to shake like this?"

Raditz opened his eyes now. He watched Gohan shake on the ground for a moment before his tail reached out and curled around Gohan's wrist. He ignored Gohan's indignant sounds and carried the boy in the air. Gohan realized that he could now not feel how much the ship was shaking. The half-saiyan looked up at Raditz. Was the man doing this to make him feel better? Was Raditz taking care of him?

Once the space pod was safely on the ground, Raditz just dropped Gohan instead of putting him down carefully. Maybe Raditz did it because he didn't want Gohan to whine or complain during the landing.

The door to the pod opened and Raditz nudged Gohan's back with his tail. The half-saiyan climbed out and walked to create some distance between the pod and himself, allowing Raditz enough room to get out.

"Are you nauseous?" Raditz asked once he was done stretching his arms. Gohan shook his head. "Good. We have to meet up with our comrades." Raditz stated as he pressed the buttons on his scouter to find out where they were. "They're not far." His gaze dropped to Gohan's level. "Can you fly?"

The half-saiyan slowly shook his head and earned a sigh from his uncle. "Fine. I'll carry you then." He went to pick the boy up but Gohan stepped back hastily, shaking his head again.

"Can't I walk?" Gohan tried. He did not want Raditz to pick him up again. The man was scary and he smelled bad. His uncle already carried him once before and Gohan did not like the experience.

"I'm not going to walk there and I'm not going to let you go alone either." The man made another grab for the boy, but Gohan maneuvered himself out of harm's way. Raditz made an impatient sound. "You can climb on my back if that would be better." He could easily grab the boy forcefully but he didn't want him to start crying again. He still had a headache from last time he kidnapped the brat.

"Those two are the only options I have?" Gohan asked, looking more miserable than he did before.

Raditz nodded once and the half-saiyan sighed. "I'll sit on your back then." He said slowly. "If I can."

"I wouldn't have suggested it otherwise. Honestly, if you would have been raised on planet Vegeta, you would be used to travelling that way. We always carry our cubs in that way. The ones who can't fly yet, I mean." His tail curled around the boy's middle, ignoring how the boy tensed and he placed the boy near his shoulders, releasing him when he felt Gohan's fingers under the upper edges of his armor.

Without warning, the man started flying and Gohan tightened his grip on the armor. He closed his eyes while they flew. He wasn't afraid of heights and he did not mind flying but he was not sitting very secure and he wasn't sure he could hold on. It was scary.

The landing was rather rough but Gohan managed to hold on. He opened his eyes for the first time and was confronted with a mass of Raditz's hair. He tightened his grip on Raditz's armor and pulled himself up so he could look over the man's shoulders.

That was before a hand grabbed his yellow coat and pulled him off Raditz's back. "You've got something on your back there, Raditz." A low voice barked loudly.

Gohan made himself smaller when the man turned him around, still holding the boy by his coat on face level. Gohan pulled his legs up and hid his face behind his hands. He did not know why he did it but it made him feel more protected.

"This isn't a Saiyan." Nappa reached out and pulled one of Gohan's hands away from his face by hooking a finger around the boy's elbow. "This is a furry volleyball." He tossed the half-saiyan up until the boy was floating in mid-air just above his head before the young half-saiyan fell down again. After catching Gohan, he threw the boy up again.

"Be careful, Nappa." Another voice came closer. This voice sounded scary, calm and almost bored but there was something in his tone that made the hairs on the back of Gohan's neck rise. "There's a reason why you haven't seen a cub in a while. Nobody let you near any since you threw that five-year-old up so high that he broke several bones when he landed."

"That's not fair, Vegeta. I didn't know he could not fly." Nappa replied, shaking his head. "Besides, he survived." Nappa froze and looked down when he noticed that Gohan's tail was curled around his wrist, which prevented Nappa from throwing him up in the air again.

The man smirked and grabbed Gohan's tail, forcing him to hang upside down from his hand. Gohan whimpered silently and tried to grab his tail. This wasn't pleasant.

Another hand grabbed the back of his coat and Gohan was carried closer to the unknown man. "This is it?" The moment Gohan made eye-contact with Vegeta, he wished he hadn't. Raditz was scary, and Nappa was scary, but Vegeta was even scarier. That man looked like the typical bad guy, and Gohan was taught to stay away from bad guys. "This broke through your armor?"

Raditz shrugged while Vegeta released the half-saiyan. The boy fell to the ground and cried out in pain when his knees landed on the ground. The men didn't even look at him though. "The situation is a bit different now. Nappa is probably scaring the hell out of him."

"Me? I'm not the one who killed his father." Nappa replied, shaking his head. "And I didn't drop him either. I'm the safest person here."

"What?" It was the first time that Gohan actually spoke up and it made all of them look down to him. "You did what?" His eyes were focusing on Raditz.

"Your father is dead, kid." Raditz said in a rather bored tone. "He refused to join us so he died."

"I refuse to join you too!" Gohan yelled back as he pointed at the older male. "Bring me back to my house now!" The young warrior yelped when a tail curled around his wrist and pulled him up in the air.

Vegeta glared at the half-saiyan. "Quiet." He snarled before he dropped the boy to the ground again. Gohan whimpered as he eyed the obvious red spots on the knee area of his pants. "Let's eat something before we get to work." He turned away from the two. "Raditz, go grab something to eat. Nappa, get the fire going." He ordered as he walked to a tree and proceeded to cut it down by just hitting against the trunk with the side of his hand.

Vegeta caught the tree, carried it backwards and dropped it to the ground. The man reached in his armor and pulled out a small white circle. He made a swift movement with it and Gohan gasped silently when it extended into a bucket. "You. Half-breed," Gohan stepped back when Vegeta's gaze landed on him, "go get some water. The stream is over there." Vegeta motioned to the right before he tossed the bucket in Gohan's direction.

Gohan stared at the bucket for a moment. Raditz had disappeared in the forest. Nappa just finished getting a fire going, and Vegeta was sitting on the recently cut down branch and was now pulling out another object that he transformed into a kettle, black this time, and was now hanging it above the fire, using a standard that Nappa just created from wooden sticks. They seemed very handy in all this. It's like they've done it more often.

The boy looked at the bucket and grabbed it. He turned away from the Saiyans and started walking to the stream. "Hurry up, brat!" He heard behind him and he started to walk faster. He assumed he would be the only one any of them would call "brat".

After getting the water, Vegeta ordered Gohan to sit down on the branch. "Do you have experience with cooking?" He asked, frowning when Gohan shook his head. "How old were you again?"

"Four."

This earned a sigh from the older warrior. "Useless." Vegeta muttered while Nappa started cutting up the meat of the animal that Raditz just dropped near their feet. "Raditz. Do you still have that uniform we brought for Kakarott?"

"Do you want to put it on him? I think it will be too big." Raditz replied as he reached back and retrieved a black uniform from his armor.

"It will be too big for him." Vegeta replied as he reached sideways and grabbed the shoulder of Gohan's jacket, forcing the boy to get off the branch and stand closer to him, all the while looking at Raditz. "But I'm not about to give him my uniform and anything is an improvement over this pathetic outfit."

Raditz agreed as he pulled a folded up uniform from the back of his armor. Vegeta turned to Gohan. "Take off your coat." The prince ordered.

"Why?" Gohan asked. The boy yelped when Vegeta backhanded his cheek.

"You don't question my orders, got it?" Vegeta snarled when Gohan looked back to him. The boy nodded a few times in response, tears in his eyes and a hand on his now bruised cheek. "What are you waiting for?"

Gohan quickly went to remove his coat, his fingers trembling as he unbuttoned it. Vegeta checked on the food while Gohan was doing this, and returned to the half-saiyan's outfit afterwards. "This won't do. Take it all off and change into this." Vegeta reached up to Raditz, who gave him the uniform and armor.

"Right here?" Gohan asked, looking at them.

Vegeta pushed the clothing in his arms. "Right here." He repeated before he pushed the half-saiyan aside so he could focus on the food again.

Raditz walked around the fire and offered to hold the armor and uniform while Gohan was changing. Gohan hesitantly accepted this offer, thanking his uncle as he handed the clothing back. He quickly shed off his clothing and worked himself into the uniform.

"Put your arms up." Raditz answered when Gohan asked for his uniform. The half-saiyan obeyed and Raditz put the uniform on for the half-saiyan. Gohan looked down at his uniform, noticing that it was way too big for him.

"Much better." Vegeta commented when Raditz stepped away from Gohan. The half-saiyan reached for his own clothing but Raditz had already grabbed it.

"You don't need these rags anymore." Raditz tossed the clothing in the fire.

"No!" Gohan ran closer to the fire, planning on grabbing his shirt, which he could easily grab without getting burned by the fire. Vegeta, however, grabbed the half-saiyan by the scruff of his neck and pulled the half-saiyan back, forcing Gohan to stumble back until he fell on the ground.

"Sentimental fool." Vegeta rolled his eyes when Gohan sniffed because of his lost clothing.

"What are we going to do with him?" Raditz asked as he sat down again. He patted on the branch to show that Gohan could sit there and the half-saiyan obeyed, sitting down next to his uncle. "Are we going to show him to Freeza first?"

"No. We're not even going to tell Freeza about him. Freeza will kill him immediately and say that the boy is too young to work. No. We have to wait until he is old enough to be a soldier." Vegeta replied as he continued working on the soup. "We'll drop him off at the camp I stayed at and that will be it."

"The camp you stayed at?" Nappa asked, raising an eyebrow. "Is that a good idea? He's so weak. I don't think he will survive that."

"If he doesn't survive it, he's not worth our time." Vegeta poured some soup in a small cup that Nappa and Raditz fashioned out of twigs and leaves. Something that Gohan found very interesting. The man handed a cup to every Saiyan, including Gohan, who was somewhat surprised that he got something and was even more surprised when he realized he liked what he got.

After eating, the adults got ready to get to work. Vegeta approached Gohan and grabbed the half-saiyan by his collar, pulling the boy up in the air. "Alright. We are going to leave you for a couple of hours. The people on this planet are hostile but we made sure there is nobody close to this place so nobody can find you here."

"Don't try to run away. If you leave this place and an inhabitant of this planet finds you, they will kill you brutally. It's not a gentle race." Vegeta smirked when Gohan gave out a whimpering sound at being treated like this. The man raised the boy up in the air even more, still holding the boy by his collar. "And even if you manage to get away without being noticed, I will find you and when I do…" The man dropped the boy to the ground. He placed his foot on Gohan's chest and pressed down, hard.

Gohan screamed out, earning a nasty grin from the man. "I will make sure to break every bone in your body before I pulverize you, got it?" He looked down at the boy, expecting an answer.

"Yes!" Gohan cried out when Vegeta pressed down again.

"Good boy." Vegeta reached down and pulled Gohan up by grabbing the edge of the boy's armor. He briefly tousled Gohan's hair before turning his back on the boy.

"Let's get going. I want to get this planet done before nightfall." Vegeta said as he walked to his comrades.

Gohan watched as the Saiyans left. Nobody said a word to him, which was fine by the boy. Once they were out of sight, Gohan sank through his knees. This morning he woke up in his own bed, his own house, with his father and mother. Now he was stuck on a different planet. Nobody was here to help him. He was all alone.

Gohan clenched his fists and grimaced as tears started form in his eyes. He slammed his fists on the ground and cried out loud.

Would he ever get home?

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

**I hope you liked it. **

**Please review and let me know what you think! **

**See you next time!**


	3. Chapter 3: Iron Snake Camp

**Last time on a Half-breed's Life**

"_You were never planning on leaving me here like you promised my father, were you?" Gohan whispered, staring at the ground. _

"_You're a smart kid." Raditz smirked as he leaned back fully, placing both his hands behind him. "Just hope that my boss will allow you to make the same decision your father has to make." _

_Gohan slowly sat down. "Your boss?"_

"_Our leader." Raditz looked up when his scouter beeped. "That's probably him." His hand moved up to press on the receive button but then hesitated. "Do you see the bushes over there. With the apples?" Gohan looked to where Raditz pointed and nodded. "Good. Go grab them." _

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

_The man stepped closer to his nephew, who was lying unconscious on the ground. "Vegeta?" Raditz asked as he looked up at the sky. _

"_You made some rash decisions there. Decided that we can't use your brother anymore without my permission etc." _

"_I'm sorry, Vegeta, but I can really see potential in his son. He is already stronger than his father and it will be easier to tame a young boy than a grown man, right?" Raditz asked as he knelt down and picked up the young half-saiyan. _

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

_Vegeta approached Gohan and grabbed the half-saiyan by his collar, pulling the boy up in the air. "Alright. We are going to leave you for a couple of hours. The people on this planet are hostile but we made sure there is nobody close to this place so nobody can find you here." _

"_Don't try to run away. If you leave this place and an inhabitant of this planet finds you, they will kill you brutally. It's not a gentle race." Vegeta smirked when Gohan gave out a whimpering sound at being treated like this. The man raised the boy up in the air even more, still holding the boy by his collar. "And even if you manage to get away without being noticed, I will find you and when I do…" The man dropped the boy to the ground. He placed his foot on Gohan's chest and pressed down, hard. _

_Gohan screamed out, earning a nasty grin from the man. "I will make sure to break every bone in your body before I pulverize you, got it?" He looked down at the boy, expecting an answer. _

"_Yes!" Gohan cried out when Vegeta pressed down again. _

"_Good boy." Vegeta reached down and pulled Gohan up by grabbing the edge of the boy's armor. He briefly tousled Gohan's hair before turning his back on the boy. _

**Thanks for the reviews! **

**Chapter 3. Iron Snake Camp**

Later that day, Gohan was sitting on the ground near the fire. He did not really know what to do. He made himself small as he leaned against the branch. That scary man told him to stay put, and he figured he was not allowed to even step away from the place where they gathered earlier.

The half-saiyan looked over his shoulder when he heard a rustle in the bushes behind him. The boy whimpered as he wrapped his arms tighter around his legs. Sitting here out in the open was scary, but those saiyan were even scarier. Though, he assumed they would not kill him. He figured that if they would want to get rid of him, they would do it right away. No. They decided to keep him alive… But for what?

Another rustle made him hide his face against his legs. The boy shook and shivered when he heard more sounds around him. Gohan flinched when a hand landed on his shoulder. He jumped up in the air and landed on the other side of the fire pit, where Vegeta stepped aside to let the boy land.

Raditz placed his hands on his hips. "He jumped all the way over there." Raditz observed. "That's impressive."

Nappa chuckled as he stepped closer. "That's nothing. I bet Vegeta could jump farther at that age."

"Of course I could." Vegeta made his way to the other side of the fire pit, using his tail to push Gohan aside. The half-saiyan stumbled back and landed on the ground. "Then again, I've been training since I was three." The man knelt down next to the unlit fire. "You could have started the fire already instead of sitting there like a useless baby." He snarled, glaring at the poor half-saiyan.

"I don't think he knows how to start a fire." Raditz sat down on one of the branches. "Do you?" He asked as his gaze moved to Gohan. The half-saiyan slowly shook his head. "See. His parents pampered him. I bet he's never even prepared any food and was always living under a safe steady roof."

"Then it's time to start your education." Vegeta was still kneeling near the unmade fire. "Come here, boy." Gohan quickly walked closer to him. Trying not to look at the blood-like stains on Vegeta's clothing, Gohan watched as Vegeta arranged the pieces of wood, sticks and leaves. "Do you know how to use your energy to create blasts?"

"What?" Gohan looked mystified and Vegeta growled in annoyance.

"No again. We'll do it the old way then. You might as well learn this." The man grabbed a couple of stones that were lying around on the ground. "Watch, boy. I'm only going to show this once." The man used the stones to get the fire going, slamming them against each other to create the sparks. Once he created the fire, Vegeta used his energy to put it out again.

Gohan sent the man a confused glance when Vegeta handed him the stones. "Try it." He ordered before he rearranged the small wood-pile. The half-saiyan looked up at Vegeta but quickly looked away when Vegeta's gaze landed on him again.

Gohan tried to mimic Vegeta's movements but he could not create the sparks. After a few minutes of waiting, Raditz snickered. "I feel sorry for the specialists already. They are the ones who are going to have to teach him this when he arrives at the camp."

"We have all day." Vegeta replied, smirking a little. The man watched Gohan try again and he reached out to grab one of the stones Gohan was holding. "You need to put more force into it."

The half-saiyan stumbled back when he realized that Vegeta was reaching out to him. The older saiyan growled in annoyance. "Get back here and continue." He snarled at the half-saiyan.

Gohan got up and walked all the way to the other side of the fire pit, as far away from Vegeta as possible, and sat down there. Ignoring the surprised glances from the others, Gohan continued to try to make a fire.

Vegeta scoffed as he got up and sat down on the branch. Gohan narrowed his eyes as he smashed the stones into each other and he widened his eyes when the sparks landed on the woodpile and a small fire started. "I did it!" He said, grinning widely.

"Not yet." Raditz nodded to the fire. "Try to blow on the fire to get it going. Be careful." The man said when Gohan leaned down to blow on the fire. Raditz hesitated for a moment. "Ehh… Don't get caught by the fire."

"I won't." Gohan replied, almost sounding cheerful. "I've seen campfires before, you know."

"Right. Now that we've got that settled." Vegeta said, taking over. "Half-breed, when you got the water earlier, did you see fish in the water?"

Gohan thought back and nodded. "Yes. I did see something that looked like fish."

"Nappa. Go catch some fish. Raditz, get our vegetable reserves out and start making something eatable." Vegeta grabbed one of the self-made cups. "Half-breed. Go grab some water."

"Yes sir." Gohan said.

"Vegeta." Vegeta said as he looked up. "You don't have to use titles when you speak to us."

"Yes sir. I mean…. Yes Vegeta." Gohan said, making a face when he realized he was making the same mistake. The boy grabbed the white bucket that had been lying around since others left and started for the stream.

The boy knelt down next to the stream and leaned forwards to let the water run in the bucket. Suddenly, a dark animal got a hold of his wrist and pulled him in the water. Gohan squealed as he fell forwards. The boy got up, coughing and spluttering and whimpering. He could not swim. How was he going to get back to the shore?

A shadow appeared in the water near him and Gohan cried out in fear. The dangerous water monster surfaced right beside him and…

"Hahaha! You should have seen your face!" Nappa called cheerfully. His tail curled around Gohan's wrist and pulled him up in the air and out of the water. The man tossed Gohan to land, where the half-saiyan landed with a cry. The bucket landed next to the soaked half-saiyan.

Nappa flew up, carrying a massive green fish-like creature. "Get the water, kiddo." He said before he flew to where the others were.

Gohan got up, sighed and grabbed the bucket. After this he filled it with water and returned to the others. Vegeta did not even look at him when the boy placed the bucket near him. The Saiyan prince was already busy preparing the fish.

"I'm bored." Nappa complained as he sat down on one of the branches. "I want to do something."

"You're always bored, Nappa." Vegeta did not even look at the man as he said this, but continued to focus on the fish. "Entertain yourself."

"There's nothing to do though..." Nappa frowned as he kicked against the dirt on the ground.

Vegeta looked around for something that Nappa could do. The older warrior could get very annoying when he was bored and Vegeta was not planning on dealing with that right now. His eyes landed on the half-saiyan, who was curled up on one of the branches, staring at the ground. The young boy sat down there after he followed Vegeta's last order and was still sitting there now.

"I know something, Nappa." Vegeta looked back to Nappa. "Why don't you play with our new toy?" He suggested as a smirk appeared on his face.

Nappa followed Vegeta's gaze, noticed Gohan and got up. "Great idea!" He said, grinning widely as he stepped closer to the young boy.

Gohan looked up when Nappa appeared in front of him. "So, kid." Nappa placed his hands on his hips and leaned forward so he could look at Gohan better. For the young warrior, this only made Nappa appear bigger and scarier. "Do you have any experience with fighting?"

"I…" Gohan said hesitantly.

"Speak up, kid!" Nappa yelled at him. "I can't hear you!" He placed a hand behind his ear and pretended to listen very hard.

Gohan cringed when Nappa yelled at him but then clenched his fists and spoke louder this time: "My father wanted to teach me how to fight, but my mom wouldn't let him and..."

Nappa was already waving his answer away. "I didn't ask for your entire life's history. I asked a simple question that requires a simple answer: Yes or no."

The half-saiyan frowned at him. "No." He replied, almost yelling himself. Those Saiyans were testing his patience. They were mean and ruthless and always seemed to want to hurt him.

"Weakling." Vegeta complained as he turned back to the fish.

"I'm not weak!" Gohan yelled back. They kept calling him weak. It was making him very angry.

Vegeta's gaze met Gohan's eyes and the half-saiyan tried hard to meet the man's eyes without fear, even though his hands were trembling. A smirk appeared on the man's face as he looked up at Nappa. "Well then. You wanted to play. So play."

"Should I though?" Nappa stood up. "His power level is puny. I could really hurt him without even meaning to."

"I hear that Saiyan half-breeds are tenacious." Vegeta's gaze moved back to Gohan. "He's a tough guy, right? Just try not to kill him." Vegeta's grin widened when an expression of fear appeared on Gohan's face.

Gohan looked up at Nappa when the older warrior moved away from him. What exactly did they mean with 'playing'? What was that to them? What was Nappa planning on doing to him?

"Come here, kiddo." Nappa said as he turned back to the half-saiyan. Gohan got up and walked closer to the man. Nappa smirked as he watched the boy walk closer. "Hmm… You can't fight... So... We could play hide-and-seek." Nappa suggested.

Gohan raised an eyebrow but stayed silent. Vegeta glanced sideways. "Don't go too far though." The prince warned. "The boy is not allowed to leave this area."

"Yeah. Yeah." Nappa waved this away. He seemed to consider this for a moment. "I know. You hide and I'll try to catch you once I find you. It will train your dodging skills. I'll count to ten." Nappa placed a hand in front of his eyes. "One. Two."

Gohan sent a hesitant glance in the direction of Vegeta and Raditz. His uncle waved the half-saiyan away. "You'd better hide." He stated.

"Three. Four..."

Gohan turned and ran for the woods. He ran all the way to a bush and hid under it. He did not really know why he played along with Nappa's ideas but, in a way, he figured that listening to the three warriors was in his best interest right now.

The half-saiyan could not help but shiver a little when he realized that Nappa's footsteps sounded awfully close to him. "Gotcha!" Nappa's hand reached for him, but the half-saiyan quickly crawled to the other side of the bush and started running.

Nappa was right behind him, choosing to go by foot and running after the half-saiyan. He seemed to be enjoying himself while Gohan was almost in tears. He did not know what Nappa expected of him. Was Gohan supposed to hide again? Should Gohan try to fight Nappa? That's what they liked, right? Fighting?

"Watch out!" Nappa launched for the half-saiyan, trying to snatch the boy from the ground, but Gohan managed to jump up and over the massive Saiyan. Nappa made a surprised sound and he looked around. The man tilted his head sideways when he realized Gohan was sitting in a tree. "Get out of there!" He yelled.

Gohan shook his head as his arms hugged the tree tightly. He did not know how he got there. One moment Nappa was catching him and the next he was sitting up in this tree. He had never experienced anything like this.

"How did you get up there?" Nappa asked curiously. The half-saiyan was located rather high up in the tree. "You can't fly, right?" Gohan shook his head in response. "That's interesting." The man laughed. "Well then. Have fun up there." He waved before he walked away.

"Hey!" Gohan yelled after him. "You can't leave me here."

"I didn't put you up there."

"But…." Gohan let out a heavy sigh. The boy leaned against the trunk of the tree with his forehead. How was he going to get out of this?

Vegeta and Raditz looked up from their work when Nappa returned to them. "Where is the boy?" Raditz asked.

"Up in a tree." Nappa replied, shrugging. "It was very interesting. I tried to catch him. One moment he was there and a moment later he was sitting high up in that tree. The boy himself did not know how he got there."

"He did not know?" Vegeta repeated. "He's playing you. Of course he knows how he got there." The man made an annoyed sound and got up. "I'll get him to talk. You start on your food."

Vegeta tracked the boy's power level by pressing on the button on his scouter. The man found the tree Gohan was in and watched with some amusement as Gohan tried to climb down. The boy was currently trying to get to a branch that was somewhat lower that the one he was sitting on. His tail was curled around the branch and he tried to reach the lower one with his foot but he could not reach it.

"Having any luck?" Vegeta shouted up.

Gohan looked up right as he slipped down, losing contact with the branches and plummeting down to the ground. Vegeta sighed as he stepped forward and held out his hands. The man caught the half-saiyan and held him for one second before dropping the boy on the ground again. He did not know whether Gohan could survive the fall to the ground without damaging his body, which is why Vegeta decided to catch the boy.

Gohan quickly got up while Vegeta knelt down to his face level. "So. How did you get up in that tree?" Vegeta asked, glaring at the half-saiyan.

"I don't know." Gohan looked down. "It just happened."

"It just… happened." Vegeta reached out and cupped Gohan's chin, forcing the boy to look up at him. "Are you lying to me, hybrid?"

Gohan frowned at him. "My name is Gohan. AAH." Vegeta's hand had moved to Gohan's cheek and was now pinching him rather hard.

"I asked you a question." Vegeta snarled at him. "Answer me."

Gohan whimpered before he shook his head. "I'm not lying." He replied when Vegeta's hand landed on his shoulder. The man frowned as he grabbed Gohan by his collar and pulled the boy closer.

Intimidation always worked on small children. Gohan started to tremble and he made the typical sounds of a child that was about to start crying, but the boy knew not to cry. It had only made the men angry until now.

"How did you get up in that tree? You told us you can't fly so how did you get there?" Vegeta growled in Gohan's face.

"I don't know." Tears leaked from Gohan's eyes. The half-saiyan yelped when Vegeta hit him, but he did not change his answer. "I DON'T KNOW!"

Vegeta kept his gaze on Gohan for a moment before he pushed the boy back, forcing Gohan to trip over his own feet and fall down. Vegeta did not like that Gohan did not give him any answers, but then again, Gohan had no reason to lie about this. The man turned away from the half-saiyan and walked back to where the others were.

Vegeta sat down on the branch after he returned. "He doesn't know." He said in response to their questions. Gohan appeared in the clearing a few minutes later. The boy did not have anywhere else to go so he came back to them. That was his only option right now.

After eating, Gohan realized that the saiyans did not prepare to leave right away. Raditz and Nappa both chose their own tree and sat down under it, leaning against the trunk and making their bodies comfortable.

"Boy." Vegeta said. "Go sit with your uncle."

Raditz looked up and patted on the ground next to him. Gohan did as told and sat down next to his uncle. "What's going on?" Gohan whispered as he looked up.

"We're going to take a nap." Raditz replied. "Just an hour or two to get out strength back so we can clear the rest of the planet."

"Clear?" Gohan repeated. "What does that mean?"

Raditz placed a hand on Gohan's head and tousled his hair. "Get some rest, boy. You've been up for a while too." He pulled away and closed his eyes.

Gohan's gaze moved to the other two saiyans but they were doing the exact same thing, closed eyes and relaxed postures. Could they really fall asleep that easily? It always took Gohan's ages to fall asleep. The half-saiyan leaned against the trunk too and closed his eyes. He might as well try to sleep too then.

Vegeta's scouter beeped exactly two hours later. The man woke up almost instantly. He got up and stretched his body. "Raditz. Nappa. Wake up." He ordered in a raised voice. His two comrades responded to his order and slowly started their own waking ritual.

"What about the boy?" Raditz asked. Gohan actually managed to fall asleep and he was now curled up on the ground, sleeping.

"Leave him. If we're lucky he will sleep through the next few hours and we'll be ready to leave when he wakes up." Vegeta flew up. "We should get back to work."

Raditz glanced at the defenseless half-saiyan for a moment before he flew up too. The boy would have to fend for himself for now.

Vegeta's hopes that Gohan would sleep through the next four hours was not granted as Gohan slowly woke up exactly one hour later. The boy rubbed his eyes for a moment before he sat up. Looking around, Gohan realized where he was and he got up fully.

The boy yelped when an explosion happened near him. The ground shook and Gohan fell back to his knees. What was happening? Gohan looked up and realized a large cloud of smoke was hiding the blue sky from sight.

Curiosity…. It was dangerous. What was going on? Should he go check on it? Gohan looked around. The three saiyans were gone. Were they the ones who were responsible for these explosions? The ground shook again and Gohan placed his hands on the ground.

Well…. Vegeta had already hit him a couple of times. What could he do if Gohan disobeyed now?

Gohan made a decision. He got up fully and started running towards the explosions. The journey was difficult. He tripped over random objects, falling to the ground, and often was thrown off his feet by the earthquakes that were created by the explosions. Gohan finally managed to reach a clearing and he looked up. He must have been close now.

There! People were flying up in the air. They seemed to be fighting. Gohan recognized the three villains immediately. They were fighting strange green men. The green men had eyes all over their bald heads, which made it easier for them to keep an eye on their enemies. He had to admit, those saiyans looked amazing, fighting a bunch of warriors at the same time and defeating them. Though, Gohan gasped when he realized why the aliens did not get up after being defeated by one of the saiyans.

Vegeta dodged a punch from an alien and ran his hands right through the alien's stomach, his fist emerging from the other side. The man smirked as he pulled back and then disintegrated the body by sending an energy blast at it.

He was kidnapped by murderers. Gohan slowly shook his head as he stepped back. How was he going to survive this? Were they planning on killing him next?

"What do we have here?"

Gohan whirled around and was faced with a small group of aliens. They eyed the half-saiyan with interest and Gohan already saw one of them glancing up at the saiyans and down at Gohan, making the connection in his mind.

"He's one of them." The alien said as he stepped closer to the half-saiyan. "Look. He has the tail and everything."

"He's just a kid." The other one said. "What is he doing here?"

"Help." Gohan said as he stepped closer. "They kidnapped me and they threatened to kill me. " He knew this was a long shot. The three Saiyan warriors were destroying their planet and Gohan could just as easily be one of their sons. They did not know the real story. "You have to help me."

"We don't have to do anything." The first alien said, making a disgusted face. "I say we kill him."

"No, we take the boy and threaten to hurt him if those goons don't leave this planet." The other said, looking at his friends.

Gohan shook his head. "Please. I wasn't supposed to leave the campsite." He pleaded, folding his hands together. "He's going to hurt me if he finds out I left."

"A very believable rehearsed story." One of the aliens said as he sent Gohan a grin. "But we're not falling for it. Grab him."

One of the warriors made a move for Gohan but the half-saiyan jumped back. Gohan looked at his own hands. How did he just make that jump? The second alien managed to get a hold of the half-saiyan, grabbing Gohan by his arm and twisting it on his shoulder.

"Bring him to those goons."

"No!" Gohan yelled. "Stop. You have to believe me!" Gohan shook his head when the alien started to fly up, bringing Gohan closer to the fight. The boy struggled and pleaded to be released but the aliens ignored him. "No! Stop! Please!"

Gohan tried to fly back but he did not even know how to fly. Vegeta told him he would hurt him if Gohan tried to flee. The man would kill him for this. Slowly. Gohan didn't want to die. He had to survive. He had to get back to his mother. He had to….

Gohan screamed as he powered up. The young saiyan kicked backwards, hitting the alien in the stomach, whirled around in the air and punched the man away. After this he turned to one of the other aliens. The one who was planning on bringing Gohan to the saiyans from the beginning. Gohan launched at the man and punched him in the stomach several times before he slammed the man down too.

Three scouters beeped and six eyes glanced sideways. The last alien glared at Gohan. "You're going to regret that!" He yelled as he pulled back a fist. Gohan caught the fist and whirled the man around several times before he released the alien, letting the gravity of that planet take over and watching the man getting launched away.

Gohan let out a relieved breath and blinked. What just happened? "Oh no…" Gohan suddenly started falling to the ground. The boy closed his eyes and waited for impact, but the impact never happened. His hand reached out and got a hold of a branch. Ignoring the small wooden splinters in his hands, Gohan let his body drop to the ground and landed on his hands and knees.

There he started running. He had to get back to the campsite. He wasn't allowed to leave that area and he was sure the saiyans were going to be angry. The half-saiyan stopped running, stumbling to a halt, when Nappa landed in front of him. The half-saiyan almost bumped into the man's legs but managed to stop his body just in time.

"Naughty little hybrid." Nappa said cheerfully before he reached down and grabbed the resisting half-saiyan by the back of his shirt.

The man placed Gohan on his shoulder before he flew up to where Vegeta and Raditz were floating. Sitting on Nappa's shoulder, Gohan felt incredibly small, but that probably wouldn't matter in the end. Vegeta was glaring at him, and that was way more important and probably way more lethal.

"What was that?" Vegeta asked, narrowing his eyes at the half-saiyan.

"That…." Raditz started, smirking smugly, "was why I decided to take him. He did the exact same thing on planet Earth. That's how he got through my armor."

Vegeta looked at Raditz. "He gets stronger when he gets angry." The man looked at Gohan again. After this he started laughing, earning confused glances from Nappa and Raditz. "Great." Vegeta smirked as he reached out and gently pushed against Gohan's chin with his fist. "You are definitely going to that camp. The specialists and the cadets there will push you to your limits every day and once you're ready I will shape you into my perfect little soldier."

"You just saved your own life, half-breed." Nappa said cheerfully. "Now we're sure we don't have to kill you."

"No, keeping you alive will be much more rewarding." Vegeta added, still smirking. His expression fell as he looked around. "This planet is giving us way too much trouble. If we were with more than three we would have been done by now." He complained.

"Maybe half-breed can help." Raditz suggested as he studied the half-saiyan.

"What are you suggesting?" Vegeta asked.

"Oozaru." Raditz said. "He's got a tail, and the young ones are so violent that he will do all our work for us."

Vegeta nodded. "Yes. Excellent." The man cupped his hands together and made a small energy-blast. He threw the energy-blast up in the sky and made it explode so that it was similar to a moon. The man looked at the half-saiyan. "You're just making yourself more and more useful. Look at the fake moon."

Gohan hesitated. "But… My mom told me never to look at the moon because it's dangerous." He said as he looked at Vegeta.

"Did she now?" Vegeta rolled his eyes. "So, the human knew about it. She must have seen Kakarot transform."

"Why is the planet still intact if Kakarot transformed? That doesn't make any sense..." Raditz said thoughtfully.

"It doesn't matter." Vegeta pointed up at the sky. "Look at the moon or I'll make you look at it." He ordered.

Gohan obeyed and looked up. The boy soon found himself entranced by the orb, staring at it with wide eyes. The others knew exactly how it felt and they had seen the transformation many times before. Though, every transformation was interesting in its own way.

They watched as Gohan started to breathe heavily. The boy's mouth was wide open and showed the fangs that were sharpening and growing as his tail wagged behind him. That was when Gohan jumped off Nappa's shoulder on his own and grew in size as he fell down. Once he landed, he was a full grown massive ape, slamming his chest with his fists.

"He's a real saiyan alright!" Nappa called as he watched Gohan slam his fist down on a house, destroying it.

Vegeta smirked. Watching one of their own destroy a city like this fired them all up. "Let's get this party started!" He called to encourage his comrades. The two cheered before they dove right into the battle.

A couple hours later, Vegeta sent a blast at the fake moon and watched as Gohan slowly changed back into his original tiny form. The half-saiyan fainted right then and there, so Nappa knelt down next to the boy to wake him up.

"What happened?" Gohan asked as he sat up, placing a hand on his forehead and looking rather dazed.

Nappa helped Gohan stand up. "You showed us how much of a saiyan you really are." Nappa answered, placing a hand against the back of Gohan's body when the boy swayed a bit.

Raditz and Vegeta were both messing with a remote control, and Nappa reached into his armor as well. Three space pods appeared in the air and landed near them.

Vegeta walked to his space pod. "You two can rock-paper-scissors to figure out who is going to share his pod with the brat." He said before he got into his own pod.

"Don't we have an extra pod?" Raditz asked.

"Nope. We only brought one extra for Kakarot. We thought the space pods were indestructible." Vegeta settled in his pod and glanced at the half-saiyan. "Though I guess they're not half-breed proof."

Raditz rolled his eyes. "Come here, boy. I'll take you." He said before he turned to his own space pod and opened it. Gohan followed his uncle and crawled in the space pod once Raditz was already sitting in there.

The half-saiyan waited until the door was closed before he sat down and leaned against the door. Raditz pressed in the coordinates in the computer and spoke to a voice Gohan could not hear. "How long will that take? A month? That long... Okay."

Raditz reached over and pressed one last button and a shiver went through the space pod. Gohan watched as Raditz reached up and pressed on a large black button. "That will make us sleep for the month." Raditz explained as he looked down at Gohan. "Good night."

The half-saiyan nodded in response. "Good night… sir." He said slowly before he closed his eyes.

After exactly four weeks of sleeping, Gohan was woken up by the shaking pod. The boy opened his mouth to say something but Raditz held up his hand.

"Silence."

Gohan made a face but he decided to stay silent. The space pod landing seemed even more shaky and horrible than the first one, at least to Gohan. He hoped he would not have to travel in those small pods anymore.

After the landing, Raditz opened the door and nudged Gohan with his tail, encouraging the boy to get out quickly. Obeying, Gohan crawled out the space pod and looked around curiously. They were in the middle of a landing area. Once they got out, Vegeta took the lead and the others followed him.

They made their way to a wide open area filled with soldiers in all sizes and colors. Gohan looked around with wide eyes. He'd never seen so many different creatures. The boy was often distracted to such an extent that he strayed from the others and one of the three adults had to pull him back.

Gohan looked up when they reached a large gate. The gate showed a figure of two snakes that curled around a large fist, their tails entwining under the wrist of the fist and their mouths hissing at each other above it.

Vegeta called his name after a voice asked who was there, and the gates opened. The moment they entered the gates something changed. It was like they entered a new world, a different world.

"There's a force field around this camp." Raditz said when Gohan asked what was wrong with this place. "It's supposed to be a small world for the cadets."

"This is the camp?" Gohan asked as they walked through the forest.

"The entire planet is the camp." Vegeta replied without looking back. "There's a small area for visitors with a hotel and a space pod center. The rest of the planet is for the cadets."

They reached a clearing and Gohan slowly let his gaze move up the large white building. The middle area was smaller than the two towers at the sides.

The two windows in the black doors showed the symbol with the two snakes again, and those doors were so massive that Gohan felt like an ant when he entered through them.

"What are we going to do here?" Gohan asked curiously.

"Ah, Vegeta." A man interrupted when they entered the building. The man was rather tall. He had a big scar on his dark grey cheek and his face was shaped a lot like the seals Gohan had seen in his biology book, complete with whiskers and everything. "You've grown up." He stated when they walked closer to him.

"I'm not here for me. I'm here to drop off one of my soldiers." Vegeta said as he reached back and motioned for Gohan to come closer. The half-saiyan sent a hesitant glance in the direction of Raditz but his uncle only pushed against Gohan's back with his boot.

"That's him?" The large man frowned as he eyed Gohan up and down. "He's too young. We won't accept students younger than ten."

"That's too bad, headmaster." Vegeta replied as his tail reached out and gave Gohan a push as well. "He's yours. We'll be back for him someday."

"I can't guarantee his survival."

"Good. If he cannot survive he's not worth our time." Vegeta turned away from the headmaster and Gohan. "We're done here."

The other two turned without saying goodbye and the three saiyans started for the door. Gohan blinked but then ran after them, stopping in front of them and preventing them from leaving.

"You can't leave me here!" Gohan yelled at them. "Why did you take me away in the first place if you're just going to drop me off again? That doesn't make any sense."

Vegeta's tail released itself and smacked against Gohan's cheek, throwing the boy aside and out of his way. Gohan landed on the ground next to them and could only watch as they resumed their trip out the doors.

The door closed behind them and Gohan got up, running to the doors and trying to push them open. When they didn't open, he jumped up to grab the handle but he couldn't reach it.

Headmaster studied the half-saiyan for a moment before he called the boy over. "Come on, boy. We've got to get you signed in."

"I want to leave." Gohan said as he turned around. "Opens these doors for me!"

"You can't leave. Even if you go outside the force field will keep you within these grounds and the gate won't open for you." Headmaster motioned for Gohan to follow him. "Come with me."

Gohan decided to follow the headmaster. Several minutes later, they entered the man's office. The office wasn't all that big. There were several closets, filled with what Gohan assumed were files on students. A desk was standing in the middle of the room, also littered with papers and documents. Gohan later found out that it was such a mess in headmaster's room because the man was just a scatterbrain.

"Sit down, boy." The man grabbed a new form and placed it on the clean area of his desk. "What's your name?"

"Son Gohan." The half-saiyan replied as he sat down on the chair opposite the man's desk.

"Age?"

"Four."

"Race is a saiyan…"

"Half-saiyan." Gohan corrected, earning a surprised glance from the headmaster. "I'm half-human too."

"Humans, huh? Interesting. There's not much knowledge about humans." Headmaster said as he wrote it down. "Alright… Then we'll just need to…." Headmaster was interrupted by a knock on the door, "Come in."

The door opened to reveal another large man. He was dressed in the same black uniform as Headmaster so Gohan assumed he was another specialist. Gohan's gaze settled on the man's scary entirely black eyes and then moved to the man's lilac skin tone.

"I heard we've got a new victim." The new man said cheerfully as he closed the door behind him.

"Yep, and you're going to like this one, Crimon. He's a saiyan." Headmaster replied as he wrote something else down.

"Half-saiyan." Gohan corrected again, earning a small smirk from the headmaster.

"Really?" Crimon walked around the chair to get a better look at Gohan. "He's just a baby. What's he doing here?"

"Vegeta." Headmaster responded, sighing. "Left him here without any explanation. He probably doesn't want to keep an eye on the boy during the missions."

"So he lets us do the dirty work." Crimon growled as he leaned on the desk with his large hand. "What's his other race?"

"Human."

"Really? That's interesting. Hitora will like that. There's not much known about humans. Fragile little race that only exists in the outer area of the North Galaxy." Crimon studied the half-saiyan. "Hitora might want to do some tests on you. For extra credits, of course."

"I see no reason to give the boy extra credits." Headmaster shook his head. "Vegeta never paid for his stay here and I doubt he's going to pay for Gohan's stay. We might as well make the boy pay off their debt."

"How? By letting Hitora perform tests on him?"

"That and we were thinking about hiring a help to clean our private quarters. Now we could let the boy do it." Headmaster looked rather pleased with the turn of events. "It's not like he's going to follow the regular classes any time soon anyway."

Gohan clenched his fists. "I didn't want to be here!" He called, earning their attention. "If you don't want me to waste your money, then let me go."

"We're not going to let you go." Headmaster shook his head. "Vegeta brought you here so you're staying here."

"You can stay in one of the single rooms. Just until you get older." Crimon suggested and headmaster nodded in response. Crimon turned to Headmaster fully, placing both his hands on the desk. "I want to train him."

"I expected that. He's all yours." Headmaster cleaned up the papers and filed it away. After this he got up and walked to one of the large cabinets. He reached inside and pulled out a purple uniform and basic white armor. After this he grabbed a golden belt which again showed the snake symbol in the middle.

"No, I'm not!" Gohan jumped up so that he was standing on the chair. "You can't just decide all of that without asking me anything!"

Headmaster started for the door. "Follow me, Gohan." He said, ignoring Gohan's earlier outburst.

Gohan frowned at being ignored but he also got off the chair. The boy noted that Crimon was following them as well. They entered a long hallway that had windows on both sides. Headmaster walked to one side and nodded to the widows. "Look down there."

Gohan tried to look over the window edge but he wasn't tall enough so Crimon reached down and carried the boy in the air so Gohan could look at what Headmaster was looking at.

Down there, a large cafeteria was filled with soldiers, large bulky noisy men, all dressed in the same uniform. Some were eating, some were talking to others. A fight had just broken out in the corner and guards were trying to keep the violent warriors apart, but they weren't really succeeding.

"You have two options, Gohan." Headmaster started when he noticed the rather scared expression on Gohan's face. "One. We can protect you, train you and give you your own room. All you have to do in return is obey our orders and do your chores. The second option is that we leave you right here to fend for yourself and you'll have nobody to protect you from those warriors down there."

Gohan looked down at the cafeteria again before glancing up at the headmaster. The decision wasn't that difficult to make. "Okay." He said softly. "I'll do what you say."

"Good." Headmaster turned away from the half-saiyan and Crimon put the boy down again.

The two specialists lead Gohan to a small single room. A round window looked out on the massive forest and Gohan could see a large lake far away.

"This will be your room." Headmaster placed the uniform on the bed. "You can eat breakfast, lunch and dinner in our private quarters. Stay here for now and someone will come for you later." Headmaster walked to the doorway. Gohan noticed that Crimon was already gone. "Oh, and change into that uniform. You're a cadet now, Gohan."

The half-saiyan watched as the door closed behind the headmaster and he sat down on the bed. Letting his body fall back, Gohan curled up on the bed and cried silently.

At one point, Gohan sat up and wiped the tears away. He grabbed the uniform and armor and changed into them. After this he walked to the small bathroom, climbed on a small stool and threw some water against his face.

His father's screams rang through his head. Raditz's laugh as he tortured his father. Vegeta's last words before he left…

"_If he can't survive he's not worth our time."_

Fine. They wanted him to toughen up? He would toughen up. Those specialists wanted him to work and train? Fine. He would do just that and he would become the strongest warrior in this camp and once those three saiyans returned…

Gohan narrowed his eyes at the wall in front of him as he leaned on the sink.

"I'm going to kill them."

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

**Get ready for a time jump in the next chapter. **

**I hope you liked it. Please leave a review and let me know what you think~**

**See you next time!**


	4. Chapter 4: Five Years Later

**Hey there!**

**Thanks for the reviews. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Dbz or any of the characters.**

**Last time on A Half-breed's Life**

"_You were never planning on leaving me here like you promised my father, were you?" Gohan whispered, staring at the ground. _

"_You're a smart kid." Raditz smirked as he leaned back fully, placing both his hands behind him. "Just hope that my boss will allow you to make the same decision your father has to make." _

_Gohan slowly sat down. "Your boss?"_

"_Our leader." Raditz looked up when his scouter beeped. "That's probably him." His hand moved up to press on the receive button but then hesitated. "Do you see the bushes over there. With the apples?" Gohan looked to where Raditz pointed and nodded. "Good. Go grab them." _

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

"_What was that?" Vegeta asked, narrowing his eyes at the half-saiyan. _

"_That…." Raditz started, smirking smugly, "was why I decided to take him. He did the exact same thing on planet Earth. That's how he got through my armor." _

_Vegeta looked at Raditz. "He gets stronger when he gets angry." The man looked at Gohan again. After this he started laughing, earning confused glances from Nappa and Raditz. "Great." Vegeta smirked as he reached out and gently pushed against Gohan's chin with his fist. "You are definitely going to that camp. The specialists and the cadets there will push you to your limits every day and once you're ready I will shape you into my perfect little soldier."_

"_You just saved your own life, half-breed." Nappa said cheerfully. "Now we're sure we don't have to kill you."_

"_No, keeping you alive will be much more rewarding." Vegeta added, still smirking._

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

"_I'm not here for me. I'm here to drop off one of my soldiers." Vegeta said as he reached back and motioned for Gohan to come closer. The half-saiyan sent a hesitant glance in the direction of Raditz but his uncle only pushed against Gohan's back with his boot. _

"_That's him?" The large man frowned as he eyed Gohan up and down. "He's too young. We won't accept students younger than ten." _

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

"_You have two options, Gohan." Headmaster started when he noticed the rather scared expression on Gohan's face. "One. We can protect you, train you and give you your own room. All you have to do in return is obey our orders and do your chores. The second option is that we leave you right here to fend for yourself and you'll have nobody to protect you from those warriors down there." _

_Gohan looked down at the cafeteria again before glancing up at the headmaster. The decision wasn't that difficult to make. "Okay." He said softly. "I'll do what you say." _

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

_His father's screams rang through his head. Raditz's laugh as he tortured his father. Vegeta's last words before he left…_

"_If he can't survive, he's not worth our time."_

_Fine. They wanted him to toughen up? He would toughen up. Those specialists wanted him to work and train? Fine. He would do just that and he would become the strongest warrior in this camp and once those three saiyans returned…_

_Gohan narrowed his eyes at the wall in front of him as he leaned on the sink. _

"_I'm going to kill them."_

**Chapter 4. Five Years Later**

"Wake up! Wake up!" A young but muscular boy climbed on top of a bunk bed and started to shake the bed, having no regard for the two boys who were sleeping in that bunk bed. "Come on! Wake up!"

The older boy that was lying in the top bed growled and pulled up his blankets. "Go away." He muttered from under his bedspread.

"Why does he do this every morning?" A voice from the bottom bed muttered in response. "Every… Morning..."

"You two sleep too much." The boy called Gohan complained. The half-saiyan crawled closer to the older boy and grabbed the upper edge of his blanket to pull it down. The older warrior had different ideas and he reached out to curl an arm around the boy. Gohan gasped as Oriko pulled him down until he was lying too.

"Good night, half-breed."

"Oriko! Let me go." Gohan complained when the boy just continued to sleep. He let Oriko pull him closer and stayed silent for a moment to give them more time to slowly wake up. A moment later, Gohan pushed his body up, realizing that Oriko was trying to pull him back down but easily overpowering the other's strength.

"Wake up, people. I've been up for hours already and you two have been sleeping forever. If we hurry we can still get in some training before breakfast." Gohan started to shake the beds again.

Oriko looked up at the clock that was hanging in the middle of the large bedroom. "It's 04:30." He complained as he fell back down and tried to hide under the bedspread.

Judin rolled over in his bed. "You know, when I just entered this camp and I heard that breakfast was from 06:00 to 07:30, I considered that so early…"

"Yeah. Me too. Who would have known that we would get stuck with a brat who wakes up hours before that?" Oriko added, groaning when Gohan managed to pull the blankets off his body.

"You two are so sad. Get up! Get up!"

"The specialists' suggestion to make half-breed sleep in a cage suddenly doesn't sound so strange." Oriko said sarcastically as he sat up. The boy yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah. Maybe we should take them up on that offer." Judin replied.

Gohan jumped off the bed. "We're wasting sunlight here." He stated as if the others hadn't spoken at all.

"The sun isn't even up yet!" Judin exclaimed as he sat up as well.

"Would you all be quiet?" Another warrior yelled from the others side of the large room. "Damn it. Every morning…"

"Yes. Get him out of here so we can sleep." Another voice that sounded closer snarled.

Gohan grinned when the two other teenagers frowned at him. The half-saiyan started pushing Judin out of his bed. Oriko heard Judin's curses and moans and he decided that it wasn't worth it. He climbed out of his bed and his feet touched the ground on the same moment that Judin was finally standing.

"Smart choice." Gohan commented as he nodded at Oriko. After this he motioned for the two to follow him and they actually listened to him, following him. Seeing as Oriko and Judin were still in their pajamas, they had to go to the dressing room. The two opened their lockers and got out the purple uniforms and silver lined armors.

Gohan waited patiently for them to finish dressing. Well, he considered himself patient. The other two were constantly complaining whenever he edged them on or commented on how slow they were.

"What should we do now?" Oriko asked, wondering how many mornings without energy he could endure.

"Drown half-saiyans." Judin muttered darkly before he yawned once more.

Gohan smirked as he placed his hands on his hips. "You two should be getting used to this by now. You're sleeping way too long. It's a waste of your life."

"Some races need their sleep." Judin replied as he reached back and tied his purple hair in a braid. "We need ten hours a day to function properly."

"And I let you sleep for like five hours. That's quite enough." Gohan's tail was wagging behind him cheerfully. "Let's see if we can steal you some coffee from the specialists' quarters."

"Coffee." Oriko said, placing a hand on his heart. "Yes, I am so happy to be your friend again. You are forgiven."

"No way." Judin shook his head. "Remember last time they caught us trying to sneak in their quarters to get coffee? I like my flesh on my back."

Gohan shrugged. "They're a bit touchy when it comes to people breaking their rules. So what? As long as Crimon doesn't whip you it's okay. Even the other specialists agree that he is the most brutal one when it comes to punishments."

Oriko made a confused face. "Didn't Crimon say something about having the official right to always punish you? Something about you being his student and that the others should always let him take care of the disciplining? Or was that a joke?"

Gohan flashed the two boys an innocent grin. "I was talking about you two, not about me. Besides, that's even better for you. He'll be so busy punishing me that he won't even look in your direction." He meant this as a joke but it only made his friends look more worried so he waved their worries away. "I can handle Crimon. Do you want to get the coffee or not?"

"No, it's not worth it." Oriko said, earning a nod from Judin.

"Fine. Then let's go and get some training done." Gohan urged before he turned away from them. "It's so early that nobody is awake yet so we'll have the entire room to ourselves."

The three cadets made their way to the largest training room. A dark room with no windows. This was mainly because there was a machine that could simulate different atmospheres.

"Where do we want to fight today?" Judin asked as he activated the simulator.

"Have you ever checked if the planet of your race is in there?" Oriko asked as he leaned forward so he could look at Gohan.

"Which one? The Saiyan planet or the human one?" Gohan teased as he leaned forward as well.

"Planet Earth." Oriko replied, rolling his eyes.

"They're both not in there." Gohan said as he looked at the machine. "The meteor destroyed the saiyan planet before the simulator was created and planet earth is not in their database."

"Then I suggest planet Koia. Beautiful planet." Judin stated before looking at the two for confirmation. Both nodded their approval.

The three warriors waited until the planet materialized around them. The beautiful lime green sky and the snowy white grounds. Gohan liked this planet. He hoped to visit it someday.

The years at camp had done him good. In the beginning he experienced difficulties fitting in. He spent most of his free time in his room, lonely, and only left to do his work. The first day that Gohan arrived there, Headmaster immediately made Gohan start working. His chores were usually cleaning the specialists' quarters and kitchen, cleaning their private rooms and bathrooms and tidying their offices. Aside from that he had to obey their orders on pretty much any other topic.

On the other end, the specialists kept their end of the bargain as well. Crimon started teaching Gohan basic combat, flying and energy-use. Hitora often helped out and practiced with Gohan. Headmaster taught the boy how to read and write in the universal language. Apparently, the universal language was similar to the human language in speech, but not in writing. Where humans used letters, the universal language was based on different combinations of symbols. It wasn't hard to learn and Gohan quickly mastered it.

It was not long before Gohan was strong enough to follow the classes like the regular students, but he still wanted to keep training with Crimon and Hitora, and they granted him this wish.

At age seven, Gohan met Judin, one of his closest friends, and he decided to move out of his single room and into a communal room like all the other cadets. The regular students all had to sleep in the communal bedrooms with nine other students. The specialists did not object to this change and allowed Gohan to sleep in the bed next to Judin's bunk bed.

There was one thing that made the relationship between Gohan and the teachers a little more strained at times, which was Gohan's attitude. The specialists hoped that if they treated him harshly from the beginning, he would become an obedient cadet.

Think again.

Almost right from the beginning, Gohan had been somewhat difficult. It started with small things. A refusal to do something, a what they called 'big mouth' but those could always be toned down by a punishment. As Gohan's strength grew, so did his offenses and soon he started to try to escape.

These attempts were punished severely, in Gohan's opinion. The specialists could not afford to let Gohan leave the camp. Vegeta would eventually come back for the boy and they did not want to be on the receiving end of Vegeta's anger. Not because they were afraid of his strength, but mainly because the man could destroy the entire building without even trying, and they dealt with Vegeta's temper before. It wasn't good.

So they discouraged his attempts to escape, especially when Gohan started to gain friends and together they created a what they called "Freedom Group", an entire group of students who were there against their will and wanted to leave. The specialist had never seen anything like it.

Luckily for Gohan, the specialists were not the kind of people to punish without a reason so the teachers did not go after Gohan when he behaved, but they had the tendency to keep an extra eye on the half-saiyan and his two best friends. They were assumed to be the leaders of the Freedom Group, something Gohan, Oriko and Judin strongly denied.

Gohan powered up as he flew up in the air. He already spent a few hours training by himself this morning so he was completely warmed up, but Judin and Oriko still had to stretch their muscles so Gohan trained by himself for a bit while they took care of their warm-ups.

A blast made Gohan jump sideways. Oriko grinned. "I nearly got you there."

"You only nearly got me there because I let you get that far." Gohan taunted as he placed his hands on his hips.

Oriko flew up to Gohan's level. "I'd say I need to get you back for waking me up this early."

"You can definitely try." Gohan glanced sideways while Judin flew up as well.

Oriko was the first one to attack, trying to slam his fist against Gohan's cheek, but the half-saiyan blocked his punch easily. He did not see Oriko's knee coming and was pushed back somewhat.

Judin had been waiting to see who would lose this little fight and set his sights on the temporary winner; Oriko. Judin attacked the older warrior head on but Oriko blocked his attack.

Gohan watched the two warriors fight for a moment. His friends progressed a lot since he met them. Then again, he had as well.

The half-saiyan could not wait anymore and jumped between the two fighters, attacking Judin with ferocity. Judin moved back, trying hard to avoid Gohan's punches. Gohan's senses told him that he was being attacked from behind. The boy blocked a last punch before diving down, out of Oriko's way.

Oriko's had already thrown his punch, and Judin widened his eyes when Gohan disappeared from his sight and he was faced with Oriko's fist. Gohan laughed when he heard the unmistakable sound of someone punching someone else.

Judin placed a hand on his cheek. "Darn it." He muttered. "That was the hardest punch you've ever given me."

Oriko glanced to Gohan. "That wasn't meant for you, Judin." He replied before turning to Gohan fully.

Gohan pouted a little. "You wanted to beat up a little kid?" He asked innocently.

"More like a little monster." Oriko muttered as he powered up.

"Auch." Gohan placed a hand on the area of his heart. "Calling me names isn't going to make you any less weak."

"Then let me show you how strong I really am." Oriko yelled before he attacked the half-saiyan. Gohan showed a grin as he moved back to avoid getting kicked by Oriko. The older warrior pulled back a fist and tried to punch Gohan but this was dodged again.

It didn't take Judin long to get into the fight as well, and the three warriors fought their hardest until the morning bell broke up their fight.

Gohan wiped some sweat off his forehead. "Already?" He asked as he looked up at the ceiling.

"Breakfast!" Judin cheered before he landed on the ground. Oriko and Gohan followed his example and both landed on the ground.

While they were making their way to the cafeteria, Gohan suddenly felt a strange sensation. He looked sideways, furrowing his brows as he focused on the power levels on this planet. Strange new powers? Hmm… Probably visitors. Strong warriors landed on this planet every day to visit their families or friends that were staying in the camp. Still… It worried Gohan somewhat.

"Half-breed." A voice hissed warningly and Gohan blinked to get back to reality. He looked forward and stopped walking as he nearly bumped into a broad chest. The man that was connected to this chest sneered down at him.

"Get out of my way, animal." The man said, narrowing his eyes at the half-saiyan.

Gohan clenched his fists. "You get out of the way. I have just as much right to walk here as you do." He snarled back.

"I often wonder why you are still alive. Babies like you should be thrown out of this camp. It's tainting the name of this place." The man's friends smirked down at Gohan. Oriko and Judin were standing right behind their friend, glaring back at them.

The half-saiyan barked out a laugh. "You're just a sore loser, Himona. You can't take that I can best you in anything."

"If you are so special, then why is nobody coming for you?" Himona taunted. Gohan stepped back. "Everyone is so embarrassed of your existence that even your own family disposed of you."

"That's it!" Gohan clenched a fist and threw a punch, which was caught by Himona.

"Oooh, did I hit a sore spot there, outcast? You're the only of your kind, aren't you? You'll never fit in anywhere." Himona taunted, his friends laughing, as he pulled Gohan closer. "But don't forget," he whispered in Gohan's ear, "you will always have a special position as Thunder's little plaything."

Gohan growled in anger before he kneed the man in the stomach. His tail released itself, wagging behind him angrily as he powered up, his hair floating behind him.

"What is going on here?" A low voice thundered. All the cadets stopped glaring at each other and looked sideways. Gohan snapped out of his anger and powered down. "Do I hear two warriors who are eager to fight? If you two want, why don't you join me in the training room and fight me?" Crimon placed his hands on his hips as he smirked at them. "Do I hear any takers?"

Gohan and Himona shook their heads. "As I thought," Crimon continued, "now scramble."

"Come on, Himona. They're not worth it." One of the cadets said, and they turned away from them.

"Let's go, half-breed." Judin said when Gohan didn't move. The half-saiyan nodded and turned to follow them to the canteen.

"Not so fast, Saiyan." Crimon said when he noticed that Gohan was leaving. The half-saiyan stopped and turned back to him.

"I know." Gohan stated. "No fighting in the hallways. I'll try to remember it." He went to turn away again and Crimon placed a lilac hand on his shoulder to keep him in place.

"You shouldn't let him get to you like that." Crimon chastised. "I don't know what it is about him that makes you so angry."

"Am I dismissed?" Gohan asked, looking up at him but not meeting his eyes. He clearly did not want to talk about this.

Crimon waved them away and the three warriors resumed their journey to the canteen.

They had a relaxing morning schedule today. The three cadets were all in the same class and they had a lecture about raciology. Today Hitora walked around in the class, explaining the strengths and weaknesses of a certain race and how to battle those aliens the best. Often, Hitora's class was combined with Crimon's combat class later on the day. Hitora would explain how to best beat a certain alien race, and Crimon would let them practice it.

Gohan would always kick back and relax during these classes. Hitora had several books about pretty much every race, and Gohan had the tendency to borrow these books and read them, resulting in him knowing pretty much everything that Hitora spoke about during the classes.

After the first class, Gohan grabbed his notebook and went to follow his friends, but Hitora called him back. "Saiyan. Come here for a sec."

Oriko and Judin exchanged glances and decided to wait for Gohan outside. Gohan walked back to Hitora's spotless desk. The man leaned on the desk with his hands.

"I will join the training session you have with Crimon this afternoon." Hitora stated as his long black hair fell over his shoulder. The man realized that Gohan made a rather thoughtful face, placing his hand against his chin to complete the picture. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing. I just…. I'm trying to remember what I have done to deserve something like that..." Gohan said innocently.

Hitora laughed. "Be prepared." He said before he stood straight and grabbed his papers. "You're dismissed."

Oriko and Judin gave Gohan curious glances when he met them in the hallway. Gohan rolled his eyes. "I have a training session with both Crimon and Hitora today." He explained before he started walking again.

Oriko followed him. "What did you do to deserve that?"

"Hitora laughed at me for asking the same thing." Gohan complained as he walked to his personal locker and entered the combination. "I didn't do anything."

Judin sent Gohan a wary glance. "You didn't do anything…?" He repeated. He clearly did not believe Gohan.

"I didn't!" Gohan exclaimed. Judin shrugged and turned to his own locker. Gohan muttered some rude things under his breath before closing his locker. "What do we have now?"

"Crimon. Three hours of combat classes." Oriko closed his locker too and walked closer to them.

Combat classes were always outside. No matter what weather, they were outside. Today was a beautiful day. Gohan placed a hand above his eyes to shield them from the sun. "That's going to be a sweaty morning." He observed.

"Better than be soaked by the rain." Oriko shrugged. Gohan had to agree with that. Though the end result would probably be the same.

"Just think about the cold shower we'll get to take afterwards." Judin added as they lined up with the other students.

Gohan placed his hands on his hips. "How much time do you expect to have after this class? I would be surprised if we had enough time to get from this place to the canteen before lunch is over."

"We'll manage."

Crimon was the one of the interrupted them, telling the cadets to get their warming-ups over with and get ready for the class.

Crimon looked at the group of warriors in front of him, standing in neat lines. He crossed his arms over each other. "Good morning, soldiers." He stated as he looked at the students. "It's a hot day today so try to drink enough water. Wouldn't want you to get dehydrated." His eyes moved over the students. "I'm going to show you a new technique today that is perfect for fighting an opponent who is taller than you are. I'll need a volunteer to help me out. Preferably someone smaller than me."

The group was silent. "Who shall I choose?" Crimon said, smirking a little. Nobody ever wanted to help, mainly because they would have to help demonstrating fighting techniques, which meant they would get hurt and possibly humiliated. "Someone small… Let's see… Saiyan! You were so eager to fight this morning so why don't you help me out?"

Gohan looked up and made a face. "Should have seen that coming." He muttered to his friends before walking to the front of the group. "I'm always happy to help." He said cheerfully.

"So, now that we have a saiyan here, we might as well work on your raciology." Crimon stated as Gohan walked to the front. "What do we know about Saiyans?"

"Hu hu ha!" A soldier made unmistakable monkey sounds and the entire group laughed. Gohan rolled his eyes. It wasn't the first time someone teased him like that and he was sure it wouldn't be the last time.

While Gohan positioned himself next to Crimon, the man's eyes moved to the guilty soldier. "Please answer in the universal language and not in your own, Oriko."

"Yes sir." Oriko replied, winking at the half-saiyan. Gohan smirked a little as his tail wagged lazily behind him.

"So, does anyone have an answer to my question?" Crimon asked again. Gohan waited patiently, still standing in a rather relaxed posture. "No, we don't know much about the saiyan race. Their planet was destroyed by a meteor many years ago and most saiyans perished along with it. Though there were some survivors. You will always see, no matter how hard you try to destroy a race, there will always be some rodents who make it out alive."

Gohan grinned as he crossed his arms over each other. "We're a stubborn lot." He said cheerfully.

"So, what information do we have? The saiyan race is a very strong race. They seem to be primarily made for fighting since they are so good at it from a young age. Their skin is a type three in thickness, making it almost impossible for thin needles to penetrate their skin on any other place than their inner wrists, inner elbows, neck and the base of their tail."

Gohan listened to Crimon's speech, eying the soldiers in front of him. He knew everything there was to know about the saiyan race. The information about the needles was something that the specialists learned through tests on Gohan. That was the deal they made when they started training Gohan.

When Gohan first arrived there, the saiyans left right away so the specialists weren't sure whether the warriors would pay for Gohan's education. Therefore, they made Gohan pay for it by forcing him to do chores and help them out in any other way. For Hitora, a teacher, fighter and scientist in one package, that meant that Hitora could do tests on the half-saiyan to find out more about the saiyan race. Was Gohan eager to let Hitora stick needles in his flesh on all areas of his body? No. But on that day Gohan found out that three men could easily restrain a six-year-old boy.

"Those areas are also considered their weak spots." Crimon continued.

"So… If I hit him on those particular spots I will win the match?" One of the soldiers asked curiously.

"If I were as weak as you I would be more concerned with actually landing your punches rather than where you land them." Gohan taunted, placing his hands on his hips. "You hitting me. Don't make me laugh."

Crimon extended an arm to stop Gohan from saying anything more. "Personality wise, the saiyans tend to be drawn into fights easily, never backing down from a challenge and always fighting on the front lines. Add to those traits the ability to live with limited sleep, gain strength from even the smallest amount food and the obvious strength growth after healing from an injury, and you have the perfect warrior race."

"So why did the saiyan race perish?" Crimon's gaze moved to Gohan. "Even before the planet was destroyed, the saiyans were in very limited numbers. Strong. Yes. One saiyan equaled about fifty regular soldiers. Their problem was their ambition. They tended to rush into battles without thinking and find themselves overpowered and killed."

"Lastly, recognizing saiyans is always easy. They tend to have a dark to very dark brown hair color, a relative bulky build and, the most obvious one, a tail." Gohan's tail wrapped around his waist again. He didn't know why but he suddenly felt a little self-conscious when all the eyes landed on his tail.

"Now," Crimon continued, earning their attention again. "That was enough for the reminiscing. Moving on to today's topic."

Gohan's thoughts trailed off during Crimon's explanation. He figured he would find out later anyway as he was to help Crimon out. He focused on something that had been bothering him a while now. A strange sensation that came from the pit of his stomach. His gaze moved to the white building. He didn't know what it was but something was off today. He did notice some strong power levels landing on the planet this morning but he did not give it much thought. Strong powers landed on this planet all the time. Besides, there were many strong power levels on the planet all the time.

A high whistling sound was Gohan's only warning. The half-saiyan jumped back when a whip landed mere centimeters from his feet. The boy looked up.

"On another note, Saiyans tend to be very vigilant. They feel an attack coming from a great distance, unlike this little saiyan." Crimon put the whip back on his belt. "What's wrong, child? Do you need to get to your twelve o' clock nap?" He mocked as he glared at the young warrior.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention." Gohan muttered as he looked down.

"Clearly. Did you process any of the information I just relayed on the others?"

"Not really."

Crimon let out a sigh. "Fine. I'm not going to explain it twice. Go back to your place in line and send Oriko up here."

Gohan nodded and walked to his position. He passed Oriko on the way and grinned at his friend, who sent him a glare back.

After the demonstration, Gohan and his two friends were getting ready to practice the new technique on each other. Crimon called Gohan over. "Saiyan. You don't have a partner? Good. You can practice with me."

"Well, actually…" Gohan said as he pointed at his friends. "I always practice with Oriko and Judin."

"They can practice with each other. Come, Saiyan." Crimon motioned for Gohan to follow him. The half-saiyan made a face at his friends before following the specialist. "You weren't paying attention?" Crimon asked as he turned to the half-saiyan.

Gohan nodded. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I just... I have been feeling strange today. It's like the planet is just a little bit different. I can't really explain it."

Crimon sent Gohan an admiring glance. "Really?" The man smirked as he looked up at the white building. "Unbelievable." He stated before he looked back down at Gohan. "Well then. Let's get to work, shall we?"

Gohan nodded as he got in the position that Crimon demonstrated earlier that class. The boy smirked a little. "Do I get to throw you on the ground now?"

"Well, you get to try." Crimon responded. "Normally, the element of surprise is the most important aspect of this move but that's not the case this time because I know exactly what you're going to do."

Gohan glanced around for a moment. "Thanks for mentioning all my weaknesses like that. Now everyone knows about them."

The specialist chuckled. "As you said, their main concern is actually managing to land a punch. I can mention weaknesses of people like you. Besides, I left out the most important weakness, didn't I?"

Gohan suddenly made a move, using the technique Crimon taught them to throw Crimon on the ground. Crimon landed on his feet on the other side of the half-saiyan. The man let himself sink down and used his right leg to sweep Gohan's feet from under him.

The half-saiyan landed on his hands and knees. He immediately got up and glared at the specialist. "You're not supposed to attack me."

"You shouldn't be so trusting." Crimon motioned for the half-saiyan to try the move again.

Gohan narrowed his eyes and attacked. It took him several tries to actually throw Crimon on the ground fully. The specialist did not like this and promised to get back at Gohan during their training later.

Gohan met up with Oriko and Judin. The three ate their lunch quickly. Gohan was used to the surprised glances he got from his friends at his eating habits. The older he became, the more he ate. The specialists told them that it was a saiyan habit. Gohan denied this. He figured that young growing teenagers just needed enough food.

The half-saiyan eyed the beautiful blue sky. "Maybe we could go out and swim in the lake this evening." He suggested as he looked at his two friends. "The weather is beautiful."

Oriko and Judin exchanged glances, somewhat uncomfortable. Gohan noticed the silence and he sent them a questioning glance. "What?"

"We… ehh… It's group night tonight." Oriko said hesitantly.

"Oh…" Gohan nodded. "Right. Sorry. I forgot."

Group night was an official night that occurred every two weeks. During this night, the different social groups of the camp gathered for a social activity. These activities often included movies, parties, campfires, alcoholic beverages etc. There was a reason why the classes started three hours later than usual on the day after these group nights.

The groups were a large part of the social community of the camp. There were four groups in total. Thunder. The strongest warriors and therefore the most influential group. Lighting. The warriors who were fast as lighting. This was the smallest group because their standards were very high. Nobody was fast enough for them. Water. Warriors who were smart enough to work their way around any obstacle. Air. The warriors with special powers like transformations, psychic powers etc.

Oriko was accepted by Lighting when they found out how fast he was. Air and Water fought over Judin when he first arrived because he was trained in science, flying airships, and he was overall smart. Aside from that he could also transform, but he chose not to because he did not like how the transformation looked. Judin chose to join Water.

Gohan was entirely ignored by the social system. He was the only warrior who was not part of a group and thus the only warrior who did not have plans on group night. Headmaster often stressed that Gohan could easily fit in any group. His strength would primarily put him in Thunder, but he was definitely fast enough for Lighting and smart enough for Water. Gohan's ability to transform to Oozaru also made him fit for Air. The groups still continued to ignore him though.

"We could not go." Judin suggested. "At least, I could. It's okay. We can go swimming."

Gohan shook his head. "No. You two have done that too often. They're already complaining that you're not participating enough, right? Go. Have fun. I can swim by myself." He smiled at them.

Oriko hesitated again. "About that. I heard that Thunder is planning on picnicking near the lake tonight. So it would probably be better for you not to show your face there."

The half-saiyan's gaze wandered off to a nearby table where a group of strong bulky cadets were sitting, talking loudly and eating with horrible manners. Thunder.

"Right." Gohan nodded. "Thanks for telling me. It's probably better that way. I still have homework that Headmaster gave me. I should probably finish it today." He said, trying to sound cheerful.

"You could come with me." Judin offered. "We can bring people once in a while. They like you. I'm sure they wouldn't mind."

Oriko placed a hand on Judin's shoulder to stop him from talking. Gohan already knew what Oriko was about to say. "No. Thunder doesn't like that."

"But I don't understand why. It's not like half-breed's in Thunder, and I don't understand why the other groups listen to Thunder's demands. It doesn't make sense." Judin complained. "You know you're welcome in Water. They will accept you any time if it wasn't for Thunder's annoying claim on…" Judin noticed Gohan's expression and he stopped talking. "It's just not fair."

Gohan showed a half-smile. "Tell me about it. Can we talk about something else?" He suggested. "This topic is bringing me down."

"Good idea." Oriko nodded once. "I know! The specialists are going out on a business trip this weekend, and it might be fun to give them a little welcome back present." He sent his two friends a devious grin.

Normally, Gohan would be excited at the thought of pranking the specialists but he was not feeling like himself today. His thoughts wandered off again and he looked at the large windows to the blue sky outside.

"What do you think half-breed?" Judin asked. The half-saiyan looked at his friends.

"I'm sorry. I dozed off for a second there. What were you saying?" Gohan asked as he looked at them.

"About the specialists…."

"Saiyan! Come here!"

"Speak of the devil." Gohan muttered before looking up at the balcony that was located high up near the ceiling of the large cafeteria. Crimon was leaning over the fence and looking down at the three warriors. The specialists made the balcony so they could watch over their students during lunch.

"Hurry up!" Crimon yelled to make Gohan move faster.

Gohan growled in annoyance. "Why do I always have to go there? Why can't they just COME HERE?" He yelled back.

"That's because you're the student and I'm the teacher, Saiyan!" Crimon yelled back, amusement shining in his eyes.

Gohan scoffed. "That's not fair!" He screamed up, but Crimon only motioned for him to come to him.

"I'll be right back." The half-saiyan flew up and landed on the balcony. "What's up?"

"Why don't you come over and spent the evening in our lounge." Crimon suggested.

"I have plans." Gohan replied automatically. It's not that he hated the specialists but spending time in their lounge often made other cadets think that he got special treatment. He wanted to stop those rumors, which is one of the reasons why he stopped going over to their quarters lately.

"It's group night." Crimon raised an eyebrow. "You're probably the only cadet who does not have plans tonight."

Gohan leaned back against the balustrade and looked down, feeling rather put off by this statement. Crimon did not have to say it that bluntly.

Crimon must have noticed Gohan's lack of response and he knelt down to Gohan's face level. "Keep your chin up. Saiyans don't pout." He said in a somewhat softer tone.

"Have they ever called for me? Vegeta or any of the others?" Gohan asked, his gaze moving to Headmaster. "Just to ask how I was doing?"

Headmaster slowly shook his head. "No. Nothing."

Gohan sighed. "Himona was right. Everyone forgot about me." The boy turned back to the cafeteria and looked over his shoulder. "I'll come over tonight. What time?"

"Six." Crimon stated as he got up too. "Are you okay?"

Gohan showed them a smile but the smile never reached his eyes. "I'm fine. Saiyans don't pout, remember?" He placed a hand on the balustrade. "I'll see you this evening." He jumped over the balustrade and off the balcony, lowering to the ground, where he spoke to his friends before he left the cafeteria alone.

Crimon leaned on the balustrade with his hands. "He didn't finish his meal." He observed.

"Do you feel like something is bothering him lately?" Hitora asked from his chair. "He seems distracted lately during classes and during the training sessions."

Crimon turned his back on the cafeteria and walked to his own chair. "I can ask about it tonight." He stated as he sat down. "Let's see how much of a fight he puts up this time."

Headmaster laughed. "You see everything as a challenge." He stated, smirking at their antics.

Meanwhile, Gohan found his bed. Falling down on it, he stretched out his limbs and stared up at the ceiling. On days like this he would think about his home planet. The blue skies, the green grass. His mother's smile. He did not remember much of how his life on planet earth used to be but he did remember his mother, or at least the version of her he could recall.

Turning on his stomach, Gohan pulled a black notebook out of his armor. He visited his personal locker before coming here, and now opened the notebook on a fresh page. He liked to write down his feelings on times like these. His friends would probably call him a softy for this, which is why he preferred to do it when he was alone.

Obviously, in a room which he shared with nine other people, he was never really alone and even now one of the roommates was sitting in his own bed, minding his own business, but that did not matter to Gohan.

The half-saiyan locked his mind in his own little world as he wrote away the bad emotions of that particular moment, and for now, he could feel safe.

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

**I hope you liked it. Please review and let me know what you think!**

**Until next time!**


	5. Chapter 5: The Unwanted Surprise

**Hey! **

**Thanks for the reviews on the previous chapter! I really appreciate them ^^**

**Previously on A Half-breed's Life:**

_Vegeta looked at Raditz. "He gets stronger when he gets angry." The man looked at Gohan again. After this he started laughing, earning confused glances from Nappa and Raditz. "Great." Vegeta smirked as he reached out and gently pushed against Gohan's chin with his fist. "You are definitely going to that camp. The specialists and the cadets there will push you to your limits every day and once you're ready I will shape you into my perfect little soldier."_

"_You just saved your own life, half-breed." Nappa said cheerfully. "Now we're sure we don't have to kill you."_

"_No, keeping you alive will be much more rewarding." Vegeta added, still smirking._

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

"_You have two options, Gohan." Headmaster started when he noticed the rather scared expression on Gohan's face. "One. We can protect you, train you and give you your own room. All you have to do in return is obey our orders and do your chores. The second option is that we leave you right here to fend for yourself and you'll have nobody to protect you from those warriors down there." _

_Gohan looked down at the cafeteria again before glancing up at the headmaster. The decision wasn't that difficult to make. "Okay." He said softly. "I'll do what you say." _

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

_His father's screams rang through his head. Raditz's laugh as he tortured his father. Vegeta's last words before he left…_

"_If he can't survive, he's not worth our time."_

_Fine. They wanted him to toughen up? He would toughen up. Those specialists wanted him to work and train? Fine. He would do just that and he would become the strongest warrior in this camp and once those three saiyans returned…_

_Gohan narrowed his eyes at the wall in front of him as he leaned on the sink. _

"_I'm going to kill them."_

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

"_I will join the training session you have with Crimon this afternoon." Hitora stated as his long black hair fell over his shoulder. The man realized that Gohan made a rather thoughtful face, placing his hand against his chin to complete the picture. "What are you doing?"_

"_Nothing. I just…. I'm trying to remember what I have done to deserve something like that..." Gohan said innocently. _

_Hitora laughed. "Be prepared." He said before he stood straight and grabbed his papers. "You're dismissed." _

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

_The half-saiyan eyed the beautiful blue sky. "Maybe we could go out and swim in the lake this evening." He suggested as he looked at his two friends. "The weather is beautiful." _

_Oriko and Judin exchanged glances, somewhat uncomfortable. Gohan noticed the silence and he sent them a questioning glance. "What?" _

"_We… ehh… It's group night tonight." Oriko said hesitantly. _

"_Oh…" Gohan nodded. "Right. Sorry. I forgot." _

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

"_Why don't you come over and spent the evening in our lounge." Crimon suggested. _

"_I have plans." Gohan replied automatically. It's not that he hated the specialists but spending time in their lounge often made other cadets think that he got special treatment. He wanted to stop those rumors, which is one of the reasons why he stopped going over to their quarters lately. _

"_It's group night." Crimon raised an eyebrow. "You're probably the only cadet who does not have plans tonight." _

**Enjoy ^^**

**Chapter 5. The Unwanted Surprise**

Judin and Oriko found Gohan not much later and they all decided to be good students and attend the drills. Nobody was happy to attend the drill classes. They were basically there to challenge the students. Even though the class was taught in groups, Duriro, the specialist, kept notes on every cadet and always knew how much drills the particular student could do. He set personal goals for every student. If a cadet managed to do fifty push-ups within a certain amount of time on Monday, Duriro would tell that cadet to do fifty-five push-ups in the same amount of time during the following class.

Gohan got extra classes from Duriro because Duririo's class was only three times a week and Gohan wanted to progress faster, get stronger in less time and make sure that he would continue to push his limits every day and now he had far exceeded the limits of the other cadets so the classes could get rather boring for the boy.

The first drill of that day was push-ups, earning a sigh from the half-saiyan. This was a rather boring drill. Only the grass to look at. No sky or surroundings. Boring.

So the boy found himself talking to Oriko rather quickly. They whispered to each other while they did their push-ups. Duriro did not like it when students talked during the drills. In his opinion, students who had the energy to talk were not putting enough energy in their exercises.

"Be quiet." Justin hissed right before a heavy force landed on Gohan's back, pushing him right to the ground.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but I could swear I could hear someone talking." Duriro asked as he leaned over the half-saiyan, still having his boot on Gohan's back. "Now Saiyan. I'm disappointed in you. If this is too easy for you, you should have told me so. I'm eager to make it more of a challenge for you." He mocked.

Gohan glared at him over his shoulder. "I wasn't the only one who was talking." He complained.

"No, but you need two to talk so as long as I keep one of you occupied, it will work out just fine." The man pressed down on Gohan's back. "Now. Continue your push-ups, Saiyan."

"I would but there is something fairly heavy leaning on my back."

A smirk appeared on Duriro's face. "I'll give you fifty extra." He threatened, but Gohan only snorted. "Sixty…. Seventy…"

Gohan let out a heavy sigh before he pushed up his body, groaning in the effort now that Duriro was pushing down on his back. "Come on, Saiyan. I know you're stronger than this. All those extra classes and for what?"

The half-saiyan sent his teacher an annoyed glance over his shoulder but did not say anything. After all these years, he learned that silence was the smartest remark. Then again, Gohan had never been smart.

Gohan's tail curled around Duriro's lower leg and shoved the man's leg off his back. Duriro was just looking at some other cadets, who seemed to be talking as well, and he didn't notice Gohan's movements. The man gasped as he stumbled back, almost stepping on another cadet.

"Much better." Gohan muttered, a smirk on his face as he continued the push-ups.

Duriro let out a growl and he reached down to grab the back of Gohan's purple uniform. Pulling the boy right up in standing position, Duriro reached for his whip and was surprised when Gohan started to pull off his silver-colored armor. This certainly wasn't the first time one of the specialists whipped him for an offence.

Gohan dropped the armor on the ground and turned his back on Duriro, making sure his black hair was falling over his shoulder and not his back. Duriro realized that the other cadets were watching them and he put his whip back on his belt. "Did I tell you all to stop?" He yelled at them.

The cadets quickly continued their push-ups. "Get back to your drills, Saiyan." Duriro ordered before he walked away, planning on punishing the other talking students. Gohan sent the man a surprised glance but he decided not to fight this decision and grabbed his armor again.

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

Gohan entered the large training room and realized the two specialists were already there. They were stretching their legs and talking to each other.

"Saiyan!" Crimon called when he noticed Gohan. "You're late. As usual."

The half-saiyan bit back a retort. No reason to make Crimon angry on a moment like this. He approached the two teachers. "I just had a drill class." He said. "I don't have to stretch. So I could afford to be late."

"Stretching is important." Crimon replied as his wagged his lilac finger at the half-saiyan. "So you are going to do the entire stretching routine again. Just to be safe." Gohan opened his mouth to complain. "Or," Crimon continued, raising his voice, "I can make you do them. I bet with my help you can get very good results."

Gohan put up his hands in defeat. "No. No. No. I'm fine by myself." He stated. "I'm never taking that bullet again." He muttered in a softer voice before he sat down on the ground. "Besides, I am more flexible than all of you combined."

"That's because you're still a child." Crimon countered as he stepped closer. "A child with a very big mouth." His fully black eyes studied the half-saiyan as Gohan stretched.

"Hey, I haven't done anything bad today." Gohan said, frowning at the man.

"You started a fight in the hallway."

"He did?" Hitora asked, looking up from his own stretches. "You know better than that, Saiyan."

Gohan stretched out his legs in front of him, making them stretch entirely and leaned forwards to grab his feet. The boy chose to remain silent at this point.

"No response." Crimon teased. "Now _that's _something to put in the local newspaper."

"I know the rules of this prison." Gohan replied as he made his right leg bend and placed his right foot against his left knee, leaning over again to stretch the muscles in his left leg. "He provoked me."

"Of course he did." Crimon knelt down next to Gohan. "You're provoked easily, but that's okay because your anger only makes you stronger, which makes you the perfect warrior." The man could not help but smirk when he realized that Gohan was keeping an eye on him, the boy's body ready for any attack. "So I have a valid reason to beat you up."

"I think it's time I started to beat you up." Gohan replied as he shifted his legs so he could stretch his right leg.

"I agree." Crimon got up fully. "Sadly, you're not there yet and you won't be for a very very very long time."

"Just you wait." Gohan called after the man who was walking away from him.

Hitora and Crimon seized each other up. "Are you ready?" Crimon asked, smirking at his comrade.

"I'm all yours." Hitora seemed just as excited to start this fight as Crimon. Hitora threw the first punch, which Crimon dodged easily. Hitora followed his comrade and tried to throw another punch.

Crimon flew up and Hitora followed him up. "It's been a while since we fought." Crimon stated as he blocked another punch. The man tried to kick Hitora.

This kick was blocked. "You've gotten stronger." Hitora threw another punch, and this one came through.

Crimon placed a hand on his cheek. "I can say the same about you."

Gohan watched the fight from the ground. He was eager to jump in but he needed to complete his stretches. Crimon had a way of knowing when Gohan did not do something he told him to do.

Those two specialists were strong. He could see all their moves, which is something that happened over time. When he was younger he could hardly see them at all, but now he could even see the sweat drops on their faces.

Gohan jumped up. All done. Now it was time to start the fun part.

The half-saiyan looked up and studied their movements. Right there. Gohan bent through his knees and used his power to shoot up. He pulled back a fist and tried to punch Crimon. The man did not see this coming and he was hit full-on.

Gohan gasped. "I hit you!" He said, grinning fully.

Hitora laughed in response to Gohan's exclamation. Crimon placed a hand on his cheek once more. "Yes, you hit me. Now I'll hit you." He swung a fist at Gohan but the half-saiyan dove under it.

The fight continued while Hitora watched. It did not take the man long to join the other two though and soon they were all at it fully. Punching, kicking, attacking, catching punches. Sweat dripped down their foreheads. Their knuckles were red and bloody from punching so often, hitting solid objects or less solid, more fleshy objects, that their own flesh gave in.

After a while, Gohan was panting heavily. The other two were panting as well. Maybe not as heavily as Gohan, but they showed signs of exhaustion. It made Gohan feel better about himself. He was at the stage that they were pretty much equally exhausted. He could keep up with them.

Though at one point, Crimon seemed to find something very amusing. It is true they managed to land a lot of punches today, but Gohan was distracted. A bit. He kept feeling those strange power levels… That restless sensation inside his body. Still, this was not a reason to think that they could defeat Gohan easily today.

However…

Crimon disappeared from in front of him and Gohan looked around. Where did he go? Hitora was still there, throwing punches at the half-saiyan and making it difficult for the boy to focus on Crimon.

A sharp pain in his back was his first warning. The boy felt his entire body going weak. His shaking knees fell to the ground, dragging the rest of his body with them.

"Come on…" Gohan groaned as he managed to get on his hands and knees. "Give me a break."

Crimon smirked down at the half-saiyan as he tightened his grip of the boy's tail. "After all these years, you still don't guard your back enough." He taunted. "I keep telling you to make sure nobody can grab your tail but you never listen. Well, then you'll have to feel it."

Hitora made his way to the other two and was waiting for Crimon to finish his speech while he was studying the half-saiyan. He was actually surprised that Gohan did not notice Crimon sneaking up on him. The boy was usually very vigilant when it came to protecting his tail. Crimon nodded to Hitora and the man pulled back a leg.

Gohan looked up at him just as Hitora kicked against his cheek as if he was kicking a football. Gohan's face was knocked sideways and the two specialists were distracted by a small object that flew right out of Gohan's mouth.

"I've got a tooth!" Hitora cheered as he ran over to where the small white tooth had fallen and picked it up. Gohan automatically used his tongue to feel where the newly made gap was.

When the specialists found out that Gohan's race was one of those races who had baby teeth, they started collecting Gohan's teeth as if they were precious prizes. It was all a game to them to see if they could knock out one of Gohan's loose teeth during the lessons or trainings. Gohan had lost one tooth while he was alone in his room and he kept it under his pillow. He knew about the tooth fairy but his tooth had always been under his pillow when he woke up. No money. No nothing. He figured tooth fairies only lived on planet Earth and not here. Gohan decided that he liked to keep his own tooth. The specialists stole all the others and since everything had been taken away from him lately, this one small piece of his own was more important to him than anything else.

"Is it a primary tooth or a permanent one?" Crimon asked curiously as he watched Hitora walk closer.

"It's small. I think primary." Hitora showed the tooth as he walked back to the two warriors.

Crimon looked back down at Gohan. "Good. That means you'll grow it back." He mentioned to the half-saiyan as he tightened his grip on Gohan's tail.

"Let me go, Crimon." Gohan said, sighing.

Hitora put the tooth in his armor and he cracked his knuckles. The half-saiyan glanced up at him. "Now, where were we..." Hitora said thoughtfully. "Oh right!" The man pulled back his leg and kicked Gohan once more.

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

"Talk about fighting dirty." Judin complained as he frowned at the half-saiyan. The boy watched as Gohan dabbed a piece of cloth against his bloody nose. "Grabbing your tail is just not fair."

"He just wants me to be vigilant. He is right. I can't let the enemy catch my tail." Gohan replied as he placed the cloth back on the sink.

"Still," Oriko leaned against the doorway. "It's not fair."

"Well, if there is one thing that I have learned over the years, that is that life isn't fair." Gohan's tail was carrying his clothes as he walked around. "I'm fine. I just need a quick shower." Gohan looked at the bruises on his legs and arms as he said this. "Nothing serious. Shouldn't you two be getting to your group activities?"

"I still have some time." Oriko checked the clock on the wall.

"Our activity just started. I should probably get going." Judin hesitated. "Are you two going to be fine?"

Gohan smiled at his friend. "We'll be fine. Go and indulge in the r-rated movies and alcoholic beverages." He said as he waved his friend away. Judin excused himself and left.

"What about you?" Gohan asked, looking at Oriko.

Oriko shrugged. "I still have about an hour." He replied.

"Which means that some of the guys are already at the place of your activity." Gohan concluded. "Go, Oriko. They like it when you arrive early."

Oriko shrugged. "I'll go in a second."

Gohan wrapped a towel around his waist, making sure it was secure. "You don't have to babysit me. I can take care of myself." He turned to Oriko fully now. "Shoo."

"Thunder started their activity two hours ago and they have been getting quite drunk. I just… I don't want you to run into any of them." Oriko said, looking out the hallway to make sure nobody was there.

"Nothing is going to happen." Gohan crossed his arms over each other. "I'm going to take a shower and then I'm going right back to the specialist lounge. They want me to clean their windows or something."

Oriko sent another hesitant look down the hallway and Gohan walked closer to his friend. Placing a hand on Oriko's shoulder, Gohan leaned forward and said: "Go."

"Fine, but…" Oriko sighed as he stepped away from the doorway, brushing a hand through his short black hair. "Okay. I'm going. You'd better not be getting in any trouble."

"I'll definitely try." Gohan said with a grin. The boy watched Oriko walk away before turning to the showers. The boy shook his head as he pulled the towel from his hips and turned on the shower. His friends were way too overprotective in his opinion.

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

"Don't worry." Headmaster said as he looked in Gohan's open mouth. "It's a primary tooth. I can already see the next one coming up." The man watched as Gohan closed his mouth. "It will be fine." The patted Gohan's head. "Go do your chores."

The half-saiyan nodded and walked to the kitchen. There had been a food fight earlier that day in the cafeteria and the windows of the specialists were damaged by it so they called Gohan in to clean the windows.

Headmaster sighed as he sat down on the couch. "A food fight." He complained. "Where was everyone?"

"Teaching. Working. Training." Crimon said. He was training with Hitora and Gohan when it happened. "The guards couldn't keep them all."

"Do we have too many students? Are they getting too much for us?" Duriro asked, looking at the others specialists. "We have never put a limit on the amount of students in our camp, but maybe we should."

"I agree." Kapo looked up from his files. He was reading the papers of the students of his class. "Things have been rather difficult lately. Escape attempts, fights out of classes, bullying, destroyed property.. We can't handle them anymore."

"Yes, we can. The guards just need to step up their game. We have to hire some more guards and train the others betters." Crimon looked out the window to the cafeteria. "And we'll give harder punishments."

Gohan was carrying a bucket with water. "If you want to reduce the numbers, I know a group of students who would love to get out of here."

Headmaster laughed. "I bet you do." He replied without looking at the half-saiyan.

"I'm just saying, you don't have to allow everyone in here and you can easily let some of the current students go." Gohan persisted.

Crimon, who was standing near Gohan, turned to the half-saiyan fully and knelt down in front of him. "Even if we will have to send every single cadet away, we will make sure to keep you right here." He stated, smirking at the young warrior. "Besides, who would scrub our toilets if you're not here?" The man's smirk broadened when Gohan glared at him. Gohan might come in every day to do the chores without too much complaining, but the fact they were forcing Gohan to do chores and clean up after them was still a touchy subject for the half-saiyan.

"You will find out someday, won't you?" Gohan replied angrily. "Either the saiyans will come to pick me up or I will manage to escape from this hellhole but someday I will definitely be out of here and then you'll have to kneel down on the ground to scrub your own damn toilets." The boy's glare intensified as leaned a little closer. "That thought keeps me going."

Headmaster had gotten up by now and walked closer. "But that time hasn't come just yet." He pushed against Gohan's shoulder. "Go do your task or you won't get any dinner today." Gohan held Crimon's gaze for a moment but then turned to the balcony and walked out.

Headmaster let out a breath while Crimon got up. "You shouldn't taunt him like that." Headmaster chastised. "The only reason why he hasn't escaped yet is because he refuses to fight us whenever we catch them. If you keep riling him up like that he'll change his mind someday."

Crimon waved this away. "I can handle the brat."

"Can you?" Headmaster's gaze moved away from the half-saiyan, who was now cleaning the other side of the windows, to Crimon. "His most recent tantrum knocked out fifty guards at once. Fifty!" The man took a deep breath as his gaze moved back to Gohan. "That boy is going to be more powerful than all of us soon.

"If you're afraid he's going to use that power against us, we'll just have to make sure he won't even consider something like that by limiting his confidence. Beat him up." Crimon crossed his arms over each other. "In order to keep a brat down, you have to beat him down every time he tries to get up until he stops trying. I know that and I'll bet Vegeta knows that too. The first thing that boy will do is beat saiyan up. Trust me on that." The specialist nodded wisely. "He talked back to me just now. He swore. Reason enough to punish him."

Headmaster slowly shook his head. "I don't think that is necessary. He is obeying our orders isn't he?"

The two specialists watched as Gohan noticed their glances and stuck out his tongue to them before he flew up to clean one of the higher corners of the windows. "Yeah.." Crimon muttered. "But it's that attitude that is bugging me."

Headmaster laughed in response. "Boys will be boys." He stated before turning away from the window.

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

"So, talk to me." Crimon stated as he looked at the half-saiyan.

After supper, Crimon took Gohan to the kitchen and closed the door behind them to give them some privacy. Gohan did not feel like sitting or talking but after a short argument, Gohan sat down on the counter near the large window. Crimon leaned against the wall opposite Gohan and gave the boy a studying glance.

"What's bothering you, boy?"

"Nothing." Gohan looked down. "I'm fine." He shifted back until he could lean against the wall, pulling his legs up on the counter and placing his feet on it. This counter had been out of commission for a very long time. There used to be a small cage standing on top of it. A crib they put upside down in order to trap the young Saiyan when he was naughty. They used to lock him up in the kitchen, in his little makeshift cage, for hours back when he was too young to be punished with physical punishment. That was until Gohan destroyed it during one of his tantrums.

"You don't want to tell me?"

"There is nothing to tell."

"Alright." Crimon detached himself from the wall and stepped closer to the half-saiyan. Gohan looked up when Crimon appeared in front of him and placed his hands on the counter. Towering over the half-saiyan, the man sent the boy a threatening glare.

"What are you doing?" Gohan asked, not impressed.

"I'm intimidating you."

A smile appeared on Gohan's face. "Did that work when I was younger?"

"It did actually." Crimon was struggling to keep a straight face right now. Obviously, it did not work anymore.

"Hmmm…" Gohan uttered as he looked down again, the smile slowly fading.

Crimon moved back to give Gohan some more space. "Is this about the groups?"

Gohan's gaze moved to the empty cafeteria. "No."

"Liar."

"Why won't they accept me?" Gohan looked up at the specialist. "What is wrong with me?"

Crimon chose his words carefully. "It has nothing to do with you personally. Thunder has a tendency to be difficult. You just came here at the wrong time. You met the wrong people when you first arrived. It's all coincidences. "

"The whole camp is having fun and I'm just sitting here." Even though this place used to be where his cage was, he had the tendency to sit down here whenever he was sent to the kitchen to cool off. It was a comfortable place to sit. He looked up again. "Why do they hate me so much?"

"You're stronger than they are. That's why they are so hard on you." Crimon replied, shrugging. "It's how this world works. The stronger you get, the more horrible your opponents become."

"I didn't even want to be here." Gohan complained.

Crimon reached out and placed a hand on Gohan's head, rubbing his thumb against Gohan's forehead gently. "Come on. We've had some tough times over the years, right?" Gohan looked up at him. "And you managed to pull yourself out of every dark hole. Don't tell me that you're going to give up now?"

"It would make my life a lot easier." Crimon's hand lowered to Gohan's ear and pinched in it. "Auch! Hey!" Gohan complained.

"What are you?"

"Are we really doing this?" Gohan asked, sighing.

"Yes. Tell me."

"I'm a saiyan." Gohan replied in a monotone voice. "Though if I would have been a full-blood human I wouldn't have been in this mess.."

"And Saiyans are…?" Crimon asked, ignoring Gohan's comments.

"The strongest warriors in the universe." Gohan rolled his eyes.

"So?"

"So I am strong and I cannot let anyone put me down." A small smile appeared on Gohan's face when Crimon tousled his hair roughly.

"That's my boy." Crimon said cheerfully. "Us being the exception of course."

Gohan made a face at his teacher. "That doesn't make any sense!" He exclaimed.

"I don't have to make sense. I am always right." Crimon replied.

"That makes even less sense." Gohan shook his head.

When they left the kitchen, Duriro looked up and called Gohan over. "Saiyan! Come here and tell Aiku he is wrong."

Crimon gently pushed against Gohan's shoulder to send him on his way and the boy ran closer to the other specialist. Hitora approached Crimon.

"What was the problem?" Hitora asked as he stopped next to Crimon.

Crimon crossed his arms over each other, his gaze on the half-saiyan. "It's nothing serious. He just needed a pep talk." The man explained. "We all need one of those once in a while."

Later that evening Gohan was back in his bed. Slowly, cadets started to get in too. They all fell in their beds, tired. The half-saiyan smiled when he saw the first friendly face of the evening.

"Good night." Gohan whispered to Judin.

The older cadet froze and turned to Gohan. "Hey," He knelt down next to Gohan's bed. "I figured you were asleep." He whispered back.

Gohan slowly shook his head as he turned on his side so he could look at Judin easier. "I can't sleep. Everyone is making too much noise."

Judin yawned. "Please don't wake us up early tomorrow." He pleaded.

Gohan snickered. "I'll try to remember that." He teased in response. Judin petted Gohan's head before whispering good night and leaving for his own bed.

The boy watched as Judin clumsy crawled into his bed. The lights were out. It was pitch black at times like these. Gohan could still see in the dark. His night vision was very good compared to some races, like Judin, who was practically blind in this darkness.

Once Oriko was safely in his bed as well, Gohan could close his eyes and rest. He knew that his friends could take care of themselves, but knowing that they were safe in their beds made Gohan feel more comfortable and allowed him to sleep.

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

True to his word, Gohan allowed Judin and Oriko to sleep the following morning. The boy got up early and walked through the silent building. He liked the camp on times like these. Nobody was up yet. Everyone was still in the world of their dreams.

The half-saiyan did what he did almost every morning. He entered the specialists' lounge by entering his special code in the electronic lock, and got the cleaning supplies from the kitchen. Finding a spot near the entrance to the private rooms of the specialists, Gohan started to clean the floor. He always started near the entrance so that the floor there would be dry when the specialists woke up.

He'd been working for a whilewhen the door to the specialists' private rooms opened and revealed Erupa, the specialist who taught specific types of martial arts and gave extra classes to the students who could not keep up with the regular classes. He was basically a private tutor.

"Good morning." Gohan stated when Erupa walked in the room. The man yawned as he walked, showing off his long black teeth. His scary teeth, dark blue skin with brown spots and two horns on his head made him look quite monstrous. Gohan used to be terrified of him when he first arrived at the camp. This fear went away quite quickly when Gohan realized that Erupa was the most gentle teacher in the camp and the least dangerous one. "You're up early."

"Couldn't sleep." Erupa walked straight to the kitchen. "How long have you been working?" He called.

"Couple of hours." Gohan looked at the clock. "Almost done."

Erupa nodded as he turned on the coffee machine. Letting Gohan do the chores was headmaster's idea and Erupa found it rather convenient as well. In the beginning, Gohan had the tendency to whine and he was rather slow because he could not reach the higher areas of the windows and closets. As he got older, his pace progressed and now he usually finished all his chores before they even woke up.

While waiting for his coffee, the man heated up the stove and let some milk pour into a pan. Gohan dipped the cloth in the water before continuing to rub the floor. He usually used this time to think over his latest lessons. Aside from his normal combat, strategy and history classes, he had his extra training sessions with Crimon and Hitora. Headmaster taught him math and other subjects. Gohan wanted to be smarter than the average soldier and he actually liked learning new things. All this and his chores, made him a rather busy cadet, but he did not mind being busy. He liked being busy. It took his mind off his home planet and his mother. Topics he did not want to think about.

Suddenly, Gohan looked up when he smelled something rather nice. Erupa was sitting at the table and he was reading a hologram of the universal newspaper while sipping from his coffee. On the other side of the table Gohan noticed a small cup of warm milk which was accompanied by a silver package.

"That wouldn't happen to be for me, would it?" Gohan was already standing next to the table, licking his lips in anticipation.

In this camp, the cadets could only drink water and nothing else. Of course, the specialists did not bother intercepting any smuggling in of other beverages. Simply because they did not care. The specialists themselves had certain privileges that the cadets didn't have so they could actually drink other beverages. Warm milk was something that Gohan discovered in camp. One of the specialists bought it but nobody, including the person who bought it, liked it. Gohan was allowed to take a sip and he loved it. The half-saiyan often wondered why they continued to buy the milk seeing as they did not like it and only tended to feed it to Gohan, but he was not going to complain.

"Hurry up and eat it before someone else does." Erupa said, a small smile on his face.

Gohan grabbed the glass with both hands and quickly started to drink from it. His eyes landed on the small package and he placed the glass on the table. Chocolate! Well… That's what he called it. The real name of the product was rather hard to pronounce and it reminded Gohan of the chocolate bars he ate on planet earth. That's why he called it chocolate.

"Do you want some?" Gohan offered as he held out the chocolate bar. Erupa shook his head in response and Gohan quickly ate the whole thing. After this he drank the rest of the milk, licking his lips afterwards.

"Thanks." The half-saiyan said before he walked back to the bucket.

"No problem, kiddo." Erupa continued to read his newspaper while Gohan grabbed the bucket and moved it so he could continue cleaning another area of the lounge.

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

Gohan studied the math book, sighing when he realized he did not understand the explanation at all. He would have to visit Hitora for this. The boy was so emerged in his book that he did not even notice the bell for breakfast.

"There you are!" Judin ran closer to the half-saiyan.

Gohan looked over his shoulder and watched his friend walk closer. "What's wrong?"

"We couldn't find you." Judin responded as he sat down on one of the chairs. "Didn't you hear the breakfast bell?"

The half-saiyan gasped. "Oh no. Please tell me that breakfast isn't over yet."

"Sorry."

"Ah man.." Gohan complained as he closed his book.

"I did bring you breakfast though."

Gohan eyed the package Judin was holding and held out his hands. "You're a lifesaver! I owe you one."

"You definitely do." Judin chuckled as he handed Gohan the package. He knew it was not enough to still Gohan's appetite but it would have to do. It was all he had.

The two warriors had known each other for a while now. Their first meeting was not even all that promising considering the friendship that grew out of it. Then again, what kind of friendly meeting was to be expected on a warrior camp…

****** Flashback ******

_Gohan was heading down the hallway, thinking deeply about his last training session with Hitora. He still had a lot to learn. Hitora was so much stronger than he was._

_The seven-year-old looked up when someone called him. "Saiyan!" Gohan looked over his shoulder and watched as Crimon ran closer. "I want you to come with me."_

"_Why?" _

"_I didn't tell you to ask questions." Crimon responded briefly. Gohan rolled his eyes when Crimon turned away from him and started walking. The boy decided to follow the man and find out what Crimon had in store for him._

_The two entered Headmaster's office where Hitora was already present. Headmaster looked up when the two arrived. "You brought Gohan?" He asked Crimon. _

"_Yup. I bet these two will have a lot in common." Crimon replied cheerfully. "They're practically soulmates." _

_Gohan walked around the chair so he could look at the person who was sitting there. It turned out to be a rather young boy. Younger than most warriors. The boy glared back at Gohan. His dark green eyes angry. The boy's long purple hair was wavy, as if it usually was tied up in a braid. _

"_Judin here was just telling us how quickly he is going to get out of here." Headmaster said, smiling. _

"_This here," Crimon placed both hands on Gohan's shoulders, "is saiyan. He wants to get out of here as badly as you do." _

"_You two should get together and hold hands and meditate in your hopeless eagerness to leave this place." Hitora teased as he leaned on against of the smaller cabinets._

"_You wouldn't believe it, but this boy has actually tried to escape." Crimon tightened his grip on Gohan's shoulder, putting more force into it than necessary. The half-saiyan widened his eyes somewhat in response to this and he could not help but reach up to try to peel Crimon's fingers off his shoulder, but the man only pressed his fingers into Gohan's shoulders._

"_Why don't you tell the new kid how hard it is to actually escape from this facility?" Hitora asked, smirking at the boy. "You never failed to amaze us with your creativity." _

"_Why don't you tell him about the punishments we gave you?" Crimon added cruelly as he leaned forward. Gohan had given up on peeling the man's fingers off his shoulders but now elbowed backwards, hitting Crimon in the stomach, forcing the man to release his shoulders. _

_The boy disappeared from his position and reappeared next to Headmaster. Crimon growled as he glared at the half-saiyan. "Saiyan. Come here." He ordered, obviously planning on paying the boy back. _

"_I'm fine here." Gohan replied innocently, placing his hands on Headmaster's desk. The man smirked as he petted Gohan's head. The half-saiyan turned to the new boy. "Congratulations. As you can see, you just landed in the worst place you could possibly land in. Why did you decide to come here?" _

"_I didn't." The boy growled back. "My master brought me here and is forcing me to stay here." _

"_You have a cruel master." Gohan stated, nodding. _

_Headmaster leaned back on his seat. "Crimon. Hitora. You two can leave while we finish everything up here." _

_Crimon looked over his shoulder as he stood in the doorway. "I'm looking forward to our training session today, Saiyan. Especially since this meeting will still be fresh in my mind." He stated ominously before leaving the room. _

_Gohan scoffed but did not respond verbally. _

"_Training session?" Judin asked, looking over at Gohan. _

_The half-saiyan shrugged. "We train together because he's one of the strongest warriors here." He explained. _

"_So… Why is he looking forward to fighting you?" Judin questioned, frowning a bit. _

"_He's stronger than me." Gohan said cheerfully. "They tend to beat me up when I get sassy." He added as he pointed to headmaster with his thumb. Judin's expression only got worried. He did not know Gohan but hearing that grown men liked to beat up children just made Judin feel queasy. "Don't worry. I get stronger every time and one day I'll beat them up." _

"_Children and their fantasies." Headmaster muttered as he wrote a last note down._

"_Your name is Judin, right?" Gohan asked, earning a nod from Judin. "I'm Gohan."_

"_Didn't that guy call you saiyan?" _

_Headmaster snickered when Gohan growled in annoyance. "They just call me that because I don't like it. I'm half-saiyan. It's my race. I just tended to deny that I am a saiyan and they try to remind me of it by calling me saiyan." He explained. "My uncle and his friends dumped me here a couple of years ago. I've tried to get away from here but they won't let me go."_

"_That's because we're very fond of you, Gohan." Headmaster muttered as he closed the document. _

_Gohan scoffed. "Yeah right." He replied sarcastically. Turning to Judin, he snatched the key out of Headmaster's hands and jumped over the desk. "Want me to show you to your room?" He suggested. "I figure you'll be wanting to get rid of those old geezers." _

"_Don't forget your training session with Crimon." Headmaster warned. _

"_I won't. Why does everyone keep reminding me of that?" Gohan complained as he opened the door. The boy turned sideways so he could look at Headmaster._

"_You tend to forget it on purpose." _

"_You can't forget something on purpose." _

"_Normal people can't, but you can."_

_Gohan sent Headmaster a glare and promptly left, Judin trailing after him. The older warrior glanced at the half-saiyan. "Do you still want to get out of here?" He asked. Gohan nodded without saying anything. "Did you stop trying to escape?" _

_Gohan grinned at him. "Of course not. Why? Do you want to join me on my journey to freedom?" _

"_I would do anything to get out of here." _

"_Good. So we're partners in crime." Gohan stated, pumping his fist in the air. _

_Judin could not help but smile. "I guess we are."_

****** End of Flashback ******

"Where's Oriko?" Gohan asked around his mouthful of food.

"I lost him somewhere." Judin said thoughtfully. The boy reached down his uniform and pulled out some pieces of clothing. "You left your pajamas on your bed this morning." He watched as Gohan grabbed the folded pieces of clothing and put it in his uniform. "Isn't that the same outfit you've been wearing for the past years?"

"Hey," Gohan complained, "Some of us do not have a generous master who sends us a new set of pajamas and Sunday clothes every six months." The boy got up. "Besides, I'm still growing into these old clothes the specialists gave me." He started for the doorway. "Come on. Class is starting."

Judin shook his head. "We don't have any classes today." He replied as he got up too.

"No classes? Why not?"

"Someone is getting picked up today." Judin responded, shrugging. "They might want to give the person time to say goodbye to his group."

"Lucky guy." Gohan muttered as he looked ahead. "Let's head for the training rooms."

"Do I detect jealousy?" Judin teased as he appeared next to Gohan.

"Do I detect foolishness?" Gohan countered, raising an eyebrow at his friend. "You know how I think about those goons. I don't want them to pick me up."

"But you don't like that they haven't picked you up either."

"When they pick me up, I will kill them." Gohan replied, nodding once.

"You make it sound so easy." Judin muttered, placing his hands on his hips. "Crimon said that he would rather fight Freeza himself than face Vegeta. He advised you to keep your head down and do what Vegeta says. What makes you think you can kill them like that? You can't even defeat Crimon and Vegeta's supposed to be even stronger."

"The specialists don't know what they're talking about. They're just trying to scare me by saying things like that." Gohan shook his head. "But I'm not falling for it."

"Just… Try to stay alive." Judin muttered.

"I will. Trust me. I was destined to kill them." Gohan shrugged. "Alright. Which room are we going for? Let's see if we can get the biggest one."

"Room 5." Judin opened the door. "At your service." He motioned for Gohan to get in and the half-saiyan played along.

They got their warmups out of the way and were ready and eager to get the real fighting going. The two charged at each other, trying each other out and fighting their hardest.

Gohan smirked when he managed to land a punch on his friend. "How are you holding up, Judin?" He asked. He sounded genuine but there was some amusement in his voice.

"I'm doing just fine." Judin snarled back. The older warrior managed to catch Gohan's next punch, and he tightened his grip on Gohan's fist. The half-saiyan only got the time to make a surprised face before Judin pulled on Gohan's fist, pulling the boy and forcing Gohan to whirled around and around until Judin let him go and let gravity take over.

Gohan managed to turn around in the air and pushed off of the wall, launching back at his friend and punching him in his stomach. Judin gasped in pain and floated back as he clutched his stomach with his hands.

"Let's end this, shall we?" Gohan yelled as he floated back. The half-saiyan moved his hands forwards, holding one arm above the other before bringing both of them to his hip, cupping his hands. A smirk appeared on Gohan's face when a look of fear appeared on Judin's face.

"You're in a terrific mood today." Judin yelled back as he powered up. He put his hands together and started to create his own blast, knowing full well that his own attack would not last against Gohan's.

Gohan bent through his knees somewhat and concentrated his energy. "Ka…Me…Ha…" The boy realized how much power Judin was putting in his attack and he chuckled silently. Even Crimon had trouble deflecting this attack. "Me…HAAA."

The two blasts reached each other in the middle of the room. The walls were energy absorbent so the blasts would not do any damage to the building itself. The students could go all out. Judin's blast did not match up to Gohan's blast and the boy was overtaken, thrown back to the ground.

Gohan was panting a little as he landed on the ground. He stepped closer to his friend and held out his hand. "I'm sorry. I overdid it a little." He muttered, smiling sheepishly.

"A little? Damn it, Half-breed. Remind me never to enter a training room when you're in a bad mood again." He muttered. "I keep letting you trick me into these beatings." Judin accepted Gohan's hand and let the boy help him up. "Headmaster is going to kill me when I ask for yet another new uniform."

Gohan shrugged. "It will give him something to do." Once Judin was fully standing, the two walked to the entry. Gohan suddenly tensed and looked behind him. He felt like someone was watching him. The boy's gaze ran over the entire room for a moment but when he did not notice anything strange, Gohan turned back to his friend.

"What does my eye see?" The two boys looked up when they heard a familiar voice. Oriko and a couple of others cadets walked closer. "Someone got his butt kicked by a child." Oriko teased as he eyed Judin's injuries.

"He used the kameha thing on me. What do you expect?" Judin complained, elbowing Gohan when the boy snickered.

"The kameha thing?" Oriko repeated, his gaze landing on Gohan. "Someone is in a bad mood."

"And eager to take it out on you. Giving both of you a beating makes my day a lot better." Gohan countered as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Well then. Instead of standing around all day, why don't we get in that training room?" One of the other cadets urged. "I want to get this fight started."

"I agree." Gohan motioned for the others to follow them and they started for the training room. "Does anyone know who is getting picked up today?" Gohan asked, glancing at his friends. "Is it someone of our group?"

"Nobody really knows." Oriko replied, frowning a little. "It's a secret."

Gohan sported a mischievous expression. "We could sneak into headmaster's office and see if we can find out who is leaving." He suggested.

"I don't think that's necessary." Oriko was looking at something in front of them. Gohan was looking at Judin when Oriko spoke and the boy glance at his older friend, who was still staring ahead. Everyone suddenly fell silent and looked ahead.

"Why not?" Gohan asked before finally looking ahead to see what made everyone look so surprised.

The boy's mouth fell open as his eyes landed on the people in front of him. The color drained from his face and the boy stepped back.

"Good day, half-saiyan. Long time no see."

****** DBZ *** DBZ ******

**I hope you like it! Please review and let me know what you think!**

**Until next time!**


	6. Chapter 6: Nightmares Comes True

**Hey guys!**

**I hope you enjoyed the previous chapters. Thanks for the reviews!**

**Previously on A Half-breed's Life:**

_His father's screams rang through his head. Raditz's laugh as he tortured his father. Vegeta's last words before he left…_

"_If he can't survive, he's not worth our time."_

_Fine. They wanted him to toughen up? He would toughen up. Those specialists wanted him to work and train? Fine. He would do just that and he would become the strongest warrior in this camp and once those three saiyans returned…_

_Gohan narrowed his eyes at the wall in front of him as he leaned on the sink. _

"_I'm going to kill them."_

***** DBZ *** DBZ *****

"_Someone is getting picked up today." Judin responded, shrugging. "They might want to give the person time to say goodbye to his group."_

"_Lucky guy." Gohan muttered as he looked ahead. "Let's head for the training rooms." _

"_Do I detect jealousy?" Judin teased as he appeared next to Gohan. _

"_Do I detect foolishness?" Gohan countered, raising an eyebrow at his friend. "You know how I think about those goons. I don't want them to pick me up."_

"_But you don't like that they haven't picked you up either." _

"_When they pick me up, I will kill them." Gohan replied, nodding once._

***** DBZ *** DBZ *****

"_Does anyone know who is getting picked up today?" Gohan asked, glancing at his friends. "Is it someone of our group?" _

"_Nobody really knows." Oriko replied, frowning a little. "It's a secret."_

_Gohan sported a mischievous expression. "We could sneak into headmaster's office and see if we can find out who is leaving." He suggested. _

"_I don't think that's necessary." Oriko was looking at something in front of them. Gohan was looking at Judin when Oriko spoke and the boy glance at his older friend, who was still staring ahead. Everyone suddenly fell silent and looked ahead._

"_Why not?" Gohan asked before finally looking ahead to see what made everyone look so surprised. _

_The boy's mouth fell open as his eyes landed on the people in front of him. The color drained from his face and the boy stepped back. _

"_Good day, half-saiyan. Long time no see."_

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 6. Nightmares Come True**

The room was lit by a small ceiling lamp. Three men were staring through a window at two young warriors who were locked in a fierce battle.

"He's stronger." The tallest one of the three stated as he crossed his arms over each other.

The man with long spiky black hair stepped closer to the window. "He can fight."

"Of course." The fourth man sounded rather annoyed. His seal-like face made a frown as he stepped closer as well. "We deliver."

"You have done very well." The smallest man said as he studied the half-saiyan. "I knew you would make a strong warrior out of him." The man frowned when Gohan fell into a particular stance, placing his hands at his hips. "What is he doing?"

The four watched as Gohan fired the Kamehameha at his friend. Vegeta turned to Headmaster. "What is that?"

"That's an attack he taught to himself. It's his father's attack. He wrote the routine down the moment he landed on this planet because he was afraid he would forget the words. Apparently, his father managed to relay a lot of martial arts information on the boy before you took him. Gohan wrote down everything he knew in his notebook." Headmaster explained. "He wanted to have an attack of his own so he could fight you."

"He wants to take revenge?" Nappa asked, sounding amused. "Great. You turned him into a real saiyan too." The man looked rather eager to meet the young warrior.

"And why did you not tell us this earlier?" Vegeta demanded as he glared at the headmaster.

Headmaster sent Vegeta a cold glance. "I don't like the tone you're using with me, Vegeta." He said in a strict voice. "We have been very accommodating. We haven't told the boy that you were coming because you asked us not to and we even cancelled Gohan's classes because we knew the first thing he would do is have a spar with his friends. You wanted to watch him fight. There he is."

"Fine." Vegeta interrupted. "I would hate to start you on one of your never-ending rants." The man turned to the window.

"Honestly, you cadets think you can mouth off at us once you're out of this camp but I cracked my whip at you often enough and I will do it again, Vegeta."

Vegeta rolled his eyes but did not reply. It would only make this rant last longer.

Nappa appeared next to Vegeta. The older soldier leaned sideways in order to say something to his leader. "He's strong, Vegeta. I think he's ready."

Vegeta nodded in response. "He's ready." He repeated. "Let's go say hi."

***** DBZ **** DBZ ******

Gohan stared at the three men. They looked exactly the same. They had not changed at all. The same horrible expressions. The same faces he saw in his nightmares. Right in front of him.

Judin glanced sideways and noticed how white Gohan's face was. "Half-breed?" He asked softly.

Vegeta was the first one to start talking. "If it isn't the little half-saiyan. Long time no see." He stated as he walked closer. The cadets all stepped away when Vegeta started to circle the half-saiyan. "You've grown, boy. Look at you." He stated sarcastically. Gohan's mouth felt dry as he stared at the other two saiyans. "How are you doing? Did you miss us? You weren't all too eager to be left here back then." The man stopped in front of the half-saiyan. "Is someone in there?" He asked, sounding rather annoyed with the lack of response.

Gohan looked up at the man. He narrowed his eyes, powered up, put his hands together and sent a blast at the Saiyan prince. Vegeta jumped up to avoid it while Nappa held out his hands to catch the blast.

"Whoop!" Nappa yelled cheerfully after the blast disappeared. "That's what I call a warm welcome!"

Vegeta landed on the ground and realized that Gohan was gone. "Where did he go?" He asked as he looked at the cadets. They all stared back at him.

"Away from you." Oriko put up a brave front against these three warriors. "And we're not about to tell you where he went."

The Saiyan prince frowned at this response. Even though he hated that they did not answer his question he could appreciate the loyalty. The man turned to Headmaster. "Where is his room?"

"I'll take you there."

The four warriors walked to the communal bedroom in which Gohan slept every night. A group of warriors was hanging out in the hallway.

Headmaster eyed them. "Why are you all standing here?" He demanded.

"The brat kicked us out again. Honestly, Headmaster, you should put him back in a solo room because this is happening way too often. If he keeps doing this we're going to destroy his bed someday." One of the warriors complained.

"Go do something useful." Headmaster ordered. The cadets all walked away while Headmaster turned to the three saiyans. "He's in here."

"I'll go." Vegeta stated before walking into the room.

Gohan was lying on his bed. The boy stared up at the ceiling as he thought about the three saiyans. He could hardly believe they were finally here. What happened? Did they need him for a difficult planet again? Was he suddenly good enough for them? Pff… They thought they could just pick him up and that he would come with them quietly? Well.. They had another thing coming…

The half-saiyan sat up when Vegeta entered the room. The man eyed the half-saiyan for a moment while Gohan studied the older warrior. "Are you going to stare at me all day?" Gohan snarled at him.

Vegeta's expression changed for a moment. "Ah, the boy can speak." He observed. "I don't mind surprises but you might want to warn me before you send another blast at me. For future reference. You might hurt me."

"That was supposed to hurt you."

"At least you're honest enough to admit it." Vegeta walked closer to the bed on which Gohan was sitting. The man made himself comfortable on Gohan's bed and watched with some amusement as Gohan shifted away from him. The boy stayed on the bed though. He was not going to let Vegeta chase him off his own property.

"I heard something about you having a solo room. Why did you decide to sleep here?" Vegeta asked as his eyes ran over the room. It was the exact same room that he stayed in when he was in camp. He was not going to tell that to Gohan just yet though.

Gohan shrugged. "My friends are here."

"Your little Freedom Group." Vegeta added, glancing at the half-saiyan.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Gohan gave the older saiyan a cold smile. The Freedom Group was not to be discussed with outsiders.

Vegeta got up from the bed and turned to the half-saiyan. "Pack your bags. We're leaving." He stated before turning to the doorway.

"What makes you think I'm coming with you? I'm not going anywhere." Gohan crossed his arms over each other as he sat on his bed.

Vegeta froze. He did not expect Gohan to refuse his orders. The man looked at Gohan over his shoulder. "Half-breed. You might have forgotten what happens when you disobey me but it's not nice."

Gohan jumped up and stalked closer to the man. "Go ahead! Try me! I'm not just some weak child anymore. I was trained. I can defend myself. I can fight you now! There is no way that you can mess with me like you did when I was a child."

The Saiyan prince turned to Gohan fully while Gohan ranting and was now smirking at the half-saiyan. "Children should not raise their voice at adults." The man stated in a scarily calm voice. He stepped closer to Gohan. "It's rude." The man eyed Gohan for a moment. "You will pack your bags or else I will break all the bones in your body. Trust me. I can do that and I will do it. And I will enjoy it. Don't tempt me, boy."

Gohan hesitated for a moment as he searched for the bluff in Vegeta's eyes but all he could find was darkness. "Why can't you just leave me alone? What have I ever done to you?"

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Stop complaining and do as you're told." The man was done and turned away from the half-saiyan again.

"No! I don't want to come with you!" Gohan clenched his fists. "Why did you even come here today? Why couldn't you just wait for a few more days so I could escape from this place?"

Vegeta stopped. "Escape?" He repeated.

"Yes." Gohan sounded miserable now. "I had it all figured out. I had a plan. We were going to try it out tomorrow. But thanks to you I've done all that work for nothing!" Gohan realized what he was saying and he placed a hand in front of his mouth. He was not supposed to tell all this to an outsider.

Vegeta thought about this for a moment and then headed for the door. "Fine. You're staying here." He stated briefly.

Gohan looked up. "What?"

"I don't want a comrade who runs away from his problems. I can't count on you if you're gone when I need you. You're worth nothing to me like that. Stay here. I have no business with you." Vegeta stated before he left the room.

Gohan stared at the empty doorway. What just happened?

Outside, Nappa, Raditz and Headmaster waited for Vegeta's return. "Where's the boy?" Raditz asked as he stepped closer. "Isn't he coming with us?"

A smirk appeared on Vegeta's face. "Yes, he's definitely coming with us. We're just going to have to stay here for one more night." The man started walking, and after exchanging a few confused looks, the others followed him.

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

"Nice seeing you here." Headmaster smiled as he looked up at Gohan.

"As if this day couldn't get any worse." The half-saiyan looked down from the high windowsill he was sitting in. "How did you find me?" Gohan asked. Nobody ever came to the towers. There was nothing to do here. That's why he liked it. Solitude. He could think without any distractions.

"How did I find you in your secret alone space where you've gone whenever you feel bad for the past four years?" Headmaster asked, his seal-like face showing a smirk when Gohan made a face. "I am surprised that you did not change your secret space once you got better at concealing your movements."

"Crimon?" Gohan guessed as the culprit who followed him once in the past and blabbed his secret to the other specialists.

"Hitora." Headmaster corrected, still smiling.

Gohan leaned back and muttered something about needing to pay Hitora back for that.

"Come down here." Headmaster stated as he looked up, motioning for Gohan to come down.

Gohan did not attempt to move. "Leave me alone." He stated as he closed his eyes.

"Where have you been these last few years if you think that will make me go away?"

Taking a deep breath, Gohan opened his eyes and sent the headmaster a glare. "I don't want to talk. I don't want to have anything to do with you. Go away!" He snarled.

"How long are you going to keep it up this time? I remember locking you in the kitchen for the duration of your refusal to talk to us last time and I think it lasted two days. Will it be longer this time?"

"Headmaster!" Gohan said in a warning voice. "Leave!"

Headmaster crossed his arms over each other and sent the half-saiyan a taunting glance. "Make me."

Gohan chuckled. "I'm not falling for that again." He stated. "I'm not going to come down there."

"Alright. This was fun but it's over now. You see, whatever you did when Vegeta was here made him refuse to take you so you singlehandedly put yourself under our permanent custody." Headmaster stated as he placed his hands on his hips. "and seeing as I am in charge of this little carnival I am the one who will make the decision as to what is going to happen with you. So, if I were you I would keep me as a friend."

Gohan considered this for a moment, jumped off the windowsill and landed next to Headmaster. The boy crossed his arms over each other. "What is going to happen?" He asked hesitantly.

Headmaster shrugged as he started walking. Gohan decided to follow him. "We discussed this option before. What's going to happen is what happens to most cadets who lose their comrades and family during their stay here." Headmaster stated as he walked. "You will stay here and continue to do odd jobs for us to earn your keep. Crimon expressed interest in taking you as an official apprentice. You will start your apprenticeship at thirteen. You will start working as a guard when you're sixteen and you will graduate when you're eighteen and start working as a full-fledged specialist."

Gohan nodded. "Or I could leave this place."

"Gohan. You're not going to leave this place. Get that through your thick head!" Headmaster smacked against the back of Gohan's head. The half-saiyan placed a hand on his head and sent Headmaster a shocked glance. Headmaster was not the kind of man to hit someone like that. Crimon, yes. Gohan wouldn't be surprised if Crimon did something like that but Headmaster was the mellow specialist. He was the lenient one. The mediator between the hotheads. That was why he was the one who was the leader of this camp.

The specialists always chose the next leader of the camp and this time the decision was unanimous. They all decided that headmaster was the best option for the job. Gohan often wondered what headmaster's name was before he took the job. The specialists were very serious about their jobs. Taking the job as the headmaster was seen as the start of a new life. The person would leave his old life behind and take a new life as the leader of this entire planet and all the cadets on it. There was a ritual involved and the person would take a new name: Headmaster. His old name would be temporarily forgotten and retaken once he decided to retire.

"Once you enter this world, you cannot leave. That's how it goes." Headmaster continued. "If you go to your planet you will only lead others to the planet. You are better to stay far away from it. Nobody knows about the milky way. Let's keep it that way."

Gohan lowered his hand and thought about this for a moment. "Crimon would take me as an apprentice?"

Headmaster nodded once. "You should think long and hard about that. We both know what an apprenticeship entails in this place. You practically give your life to him. He will be in charge of everything you do. You will have to commit to it. Do whatever he says and whenever he says it. You will sleep in the apprentice wing and be ready to work for Crimon every time he wants." The man stopped near a window and turned to Gohan. "It will be hard and difficult, but specialists have to be the best of the best so we have to train you to become the best." The man stopped for a moment and studied Gohan. "I don't doubt that you can graduate easily. We could use someone like you as a specialist."

Gohan lowered his gaze. "But… Crimon is the only option?" He asked, hoping he didn't sound spoiled.

Headmaster chuckled. "I know. Saiyans and their pride. Crimon would be the last person you would want to submit to, but you and I both know that he's the best option. He's the strongest here. He's the youngest. He's been training you so you two are used to working with each other." The man shrugged. "Besides, he knows what it's like to be in your position."

Gohan knew about that. Crimon told him. It happened more often that a cadet lost their family while in the camp. Most cadets either went back to their planets or left the camp to work somewhere else. Some stayed at the camp to work there. Crimon was one of those cadets. He was very eager to go to the camp. He'd been wanting to stay there since he heard about it for the first time. Crimon arrived when he was sixteen and was planning on staying for five years before he would start working for Freeza's army. He was an eager cadet. He worked hard and trained a lot. He often asked the specialists for extra classes and he indulged himself in the Thunder social activities.

After two years, Crimon's comrades were killed in battle and since they could not pay for Crimon's stay anymore, the boy was to return home. He did not want to leave and pleaded for another option. Since he was such a motivated student and they liked him, they offered him the same option as Headmaster was offering Gohan right now. Crimon took the offer. He started the apprenticeship under Hitora and graduated within five years. Now, he was one of the strongest specialists in the camp.

"Maybe you're right." Gohan said, nodding. "I'm stuck here. I might as well make the best of it." The two were walking again. Fast paced. Headmaster seemed to be in a hurry.

"Exactly." Headmaster smiled as he opened the door to the specialist quarters. Gohan followed him in the room initially but then realized where he was, saw at least three specialists and whirled around to leave the room. Headmaster closed the door behind him and motioned for Gohan to walk further into the room. "There are some people who want to see you." He stated.

"You tricked me." Gohan accused. "I knew I shouldn't have fallen for your whole I care crap." The man pushed against Gohan's back while they walked.

Crimon was the first one to get up. "Oh, there he is!" He said. Gohan sent one last glare at Headmaster, who was making his way to the kitchen now that he dropped Gohan off in reliable hands, before the boy sat down on the free chair. He might as well make himself comfortable. "Well, saiyan. You are officially homeless." Crimon continued cheerfully.

"You're part of our system now." Hitora added as he walked closer. "So, who gets to be the one to shape you into a fine specialist?"

"Or a good guard. Might not aim too high." Crimon added, smirking when Gohan sent him a glare.

Duriro leaned forward and leaned on his knees with his elbows. "We all know Crimon is the best option but, trust me, we all want a crack at you."

Gohan leaned back on his seat. These guys always thought they owned Gohan just because they pretty much taught him all he knew. The boy smiled when headmaster handed him a glass of warm milk and took a sip from the glass.

Though, they might gloat and they might be annoying, but Gohan realized that they wanted him to stay here. Gohan was not the first person to whom this situation happened. He'd seen two similar cases and the specialists sent those cadets away without offering a job. Headmaster did not want Gohan's planet to be discovered so he advised Gohan to stay away from it and offered Gohan a job and a place to stay. The man knew how important planet Earth was to Gohan.

They liked him and they did not mind keeping him around. They were ready and eager to take him in, let him sleep in the apprentice room, which was in the same hallway as the rooms of the other specialists. It pretty much meant that he would spend his time eating, sleeping and training with them, and they practically assumed that it was going to happen. No complaints at all.

However, nobody was asking Gohan what he wanted either. The half-saiyan sat up. "Can I stay in the bedroom that I'm in now?" He asked. He wasn't really looking forward to having his own room. He liked sharing a room with others.

"No." Crimon responded, shaking his head. "You have to move here once your training starts."

"What does it matter where I sleep?"

"You have to be here whenever we need you." Crimon stated. "And trust me, I'm going to be needing you very often. Someone has to wipe my boots clean after a long day of training outside." The man grinned at the half-saiyan.

Gohan rolled his eyes. Great. Crimon was already enjoying it. That's what Gohan didn't like about all this. The idea behind it is that an apprentice is so thankful for his master's teachings that he will do everything in return. The student will come running at his teacher's call, just to show his gratitude. Gohan knew that the specialists took advantage of this rule now and Gohan was pretty sure that they would definitely enjoy ordering Gohan around. He might not be as thankful as any other apprentice but he had to obey to the traditions.

"I would be more worried about whether you're going to survive the training because that training is hell." Crimon advised.

"Is it now?" Gohan asked, smiling a little. "It cannot be any harder than what you've been putting me through lately."

"Oh, it is." Hitora leaned over to grab his glass of water. "Crimon should know. I personally put him through the hell of the specialist training."

"Few hours of sleep. A lot of training." Crimon nodded. "It will toughen any man up." The man made a face. "Too bad that you're so young. I would have loved to start the apprenticeship right now but I have to wait for three whole years."

"You could start early. Gohan just cannot graduate until he is eighteen." Headmaster explained. "Most cadets here are older than eighteen. They will never listen to a child."

"In that case." Crimon turned to Gohan. "Pack up your stuff, kiddo. Your training is starting tomorrow!"

"But that would mean that my training period is longer." Gohan stated, frowning a little. He was excited for the specialist training. It sounded like he was going to be very strong, but that didn't mean he would agree to an extra-long training period.

"So?" Crimon asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I am fine with waiting for another three years." Gohan stated, shrugging.

"I'm not." Crimon made a face that could match a three-year-old who was not getting his way. "It's now or never. Take it or leave it."

"That's not fair." Gohan complained as he got up.

"Do you want to be a cleaning crew member for the rest of your life?" Hitora asked, sending the boy a smirk. The man was obviously enjoying this.

"No."

"Do you want to be a guard for the rest of your life?" Headmaster added as he sat down.

"No!"

"Then start packing up your stuff, kiddo." Crimon cut in, sending the half-saiyan a grin.

Gohan let out a growl. "You people!" He complained loudly before turning to the doorway. "Do not expect me to come back with my bags fully packed because I won't." Gohan placed his hand on the doorknob and considered something. "And I don't have anything to pack anyway." He slammed the door behind him.

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

It did not take Gohan long to find his two friends again. They were sparring in one of the smaller training rooms. The half-saiyan watched them for a moment before cutting in.

"You two!" He yelled accusingly as he pointed at them. Oriko and Judin stopped and glanced sideways. "Where were you when I needed you? Did we not agree that you would never leave me alone?"

"What happened?" Oriko asked as he watched Gohan walk closer. The older warrior wiped some sweat off his forehead.

"Headmaster found me." Gohan complained, crossing his arms over each other.

"That's not our fault. You should find better places to hide." Judin responded as he pointed at the half-saiyan.

"What happened with Vegeta?" Oriko asked, studying the half-saiyan. Gohan met his eyes briefly but then looked away.

The ten-year-old shrugged. "Nothing much."

"Why are you still here?"

Gohan sighed in response to Oriko's question and he explained everything that happened. Once he was done both Oriko and Judin were frowning at him. They did not seem mad but they looked like they could not believe what happened.

"He let you stay here?" Oriko said slowly. "I'm sorry but I doubt that he was being honest there. Why would he go through all that trouble to catch you only to let you stay here?"

"What do we care? We can escape now." Gohan stated. "We have a plan, remember? All we have to do is carry it out."

"Are you sure you're up to it?" Judin asked. "We could wait a couple of days more."

Gohan was already shaking his head. "No. No more waiting. We're doing it tomorrow."

"Tomorrow." Oriko nodded. "But for now, let's forget about the outside world." The cadet started walking to the doorway and the other two followed him. "I for one know that there are some rascals running around outside."

"Let's join them." Gohan added, smiling when Oriko sent him a grin.

Even though it was Gohan's idea to join their friends, he was the first one to disappear from their midst. The half-saiyan found a spot somewhere in a high tree and sat down there. He leaned against the trunk and thought about his conversation with the specialists. They offered him a position in their team. They wanted him to stay. Was it a bad idea to leave right now? Gohan never really felt guilty when it came to his escape attempts. He did not want to be here. They knew that. He was running away from the saiyans and the fact that he had to become a murderer. He was not running away from them, right?

"Are you going to stay up here all night?" Oriko sat down on a branch opposite Gohan.

The half-saiyan made a face as he changed his position. "I'm just thinking."

"Does it hurt?"

Gohan sent his friend a glare before looking down at his feet. He did not really feel like talking right now. Oriko seemed to notice Gohan's reluctance to talk and he decided to push a little more. "What are you worrying about? It cannot be that the saiyans didn't pick you up. That's something to celebrate, right?" Oriko waited for Gohan to respond but the saiyan did not say anything. "Besides, we're going to escape tomorrow. We're leaving this place. There's no reason for you to be unhappy."

Gohan made a face when Oriko mentioned the escape attempt and Oriko caught onto this. "What's wrong?" He asked. "Come on, Gohan. If you don't tell me now it might screw up our chances of leaving tomorrow. You have a rather significant part, remember?"

Gohan hesitated. "They offered me a job." He stated.

"As a guard?" Oriko did not seem surprised.

"Specialist." Gohan replied as he leaned his head back.

"Of course they did. You're a decent warrior." Oriko replied as he studied the half-saiyan.

Gohan looked up at this. "Decent?" He repeated. "You can't defeat me and you call me decent?"

"I don't see how this changes anything." Oriko said as he shifted on the branch. "You still want to leave, right?"

Gohan did not answer this question right away. Oriko leaned forward and frowned a little. "You don't want to leave?"

"I just… They want me to stay." Gohan replied hesitantly. "I never wanted to leave them. I just wanted to leave this world. The world in which the saiyans would come to get me and force me to do their work."

"But it's not just you, is it?" Oriko asked, frowning a little. "Forget about me. What about Judin? Do you want to send him back to his cruel master who beat him with a stick before he came here? Or Juno, whose comrades are going to sell him on the slave market if he can't get strong enough to earn his keep? What about Kia? She came here to be trained into a soldier so she can participate in the war on her planet. Do you want her to see a world of death and destruction?" Oriko slowly shook his head. "We've got some people here who do not want to return to their owners. You used to be one of them and you can stay here if you want, but I am going to help the others escape."

"I know." Gohan replied, smiling a little. "I know. I want to join you." He stated as he looked up. "I do. I want to stay with my friends. Together we can defeat anyone."

"Are you sure?" Oriko got off the branch and floated closer to Gohan. "I don't want to force you into anything."

"No." Gohan shook his head. "Don't worry. I know perfectly well what I want and what I don't want and if I didn't want you to force me into something you would know."

"Just imagine travelling to the outer corners of space with us. We could train all day and visit beautiful planets. We could do whatever we want. Nobody will tell us what to do."

"It sounds too good to be true." Gohan muttered in a rather sad tone. "Maybe it is. What if we can never really be free?"

"You really don't feel well today, huh?" Oriko made a sad face that matched Gohan's expression. "I hate that those goons can do that to you. Half-breed, we have a free mind, remember? No matter what happens, your mind is your own. Even if others control your actions, they cannot control your mind. In that way, you will always be free."

Gohan smiled a little. "Right." The boy rolled his shoulders a few times. "I feel better." A conversation with Oriko could always help him. "And that will never happen." Gohan stated before looking back over his shoulder to Judin. The boy tried to scare Gohan but Gohan's ability to feel powers pretty much ruined the surprise.

"Aw.." Judin complained as he lowered his hands.

"You guys need to work on your.. AAHH." While Gohan was looking over his shoulder, another cadet appeared in front of the boy, grabbed his leg and pulled him off the tree branch and slammed him into the ground. There the two boys engaged in a battle to the death… Or a playful wrestling match. It all looked the same to the untrained eye.

The grins on their faces were a giveaway of their true feelings about these wrestling matches. They were basically just having the time of their lives. They brought their practice matches to the lake, throwing off their armors and uniforms and spending their last evening in camp with their friends.

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

**I hope you liked it! The next chapter will be online soon.**


	7. Chapter 7: Plan Gone Wrong

**Hey guys! **

**Two chapters in one day! That must be some sort of record for me xD **

**I've got a nice and long chapter for you~**

**Previously on A Half-breed's Life:**

_His father's screams rang through his head. Raditz's laugh as he tortured his father. Vegeta's last words before he left…_

"_If he can't survive, he's not worth our time."_

_Fine. They wanted him to toughen up? He would toughen up. Those specialists wanted him to work and train? Fine. He would do just that and he would become the strongest warrior in this camp and once those three saiyans returned…_

_Gohan narrowed his eyes at the wall in front of him as he leaned on the sink. _

"_I'm going to kill them."_

***** DBZ *** DBZ *****

"_Someone is getting picked up today." Judin responded, shrugging. "They might want to give the person time to say goodbye to his group."_

"_Lucky guy." Gohan muttered as he looked ahead. "Let's head for the training rooms." _

"_Do I detect jealousy?" Judin teased as he appeared next to Gohan. _

"_Do I detect foolishness?" Gohan countered, raising an eyebrow at his friend. "You know how I think about those goons. I don't want them to pick me up."_

"_But you don't like that they haven't picked you up either." _

"_When they pick me up, I will kill them." Gohan replied, nodding once._

***** DBZ *** DBZ *****

"_Does anyone know who is getting picked up today?" Gohan asked, glancing at his friends. "Is it someone of our group?" _

"_Nobody really knows." Oriko replied, frowning a little. "It's a secret."_

_Gohan sported a mischievous expression. "We could sneak into headmaster's office and see if we can find out who is leaving." He suggested. _

"_I don't think that's necessary." Oriko was looking at something in front of them. Gohan was looking at Judin when Oriko spoke and the boy glance at his older friend, who was still staring ahead. Everyone suddenly fell silent and looked ahead._

"_Why not?" Gohan asked before finally looking ahead to see what made everyone look so surprised. _

_The boy's mouth fell open as his eyes landed on the people in front of him. The color drained from his face and the boy stepped back. _

"_Good day, half-saiyan. Long time no see."_

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

"_No! I don't want to come with you!" Gohan clenched his fists. "Why did you even come here today? Why couldn't you just wait for a few more days so I could escape from this place?" _

_Vegeta stopped. "Escape?" He repeated._

"_Yes." Gohan sounded miserable now. "I had it all figured out. I had a plan. We were going to try it out tomorrow. But thanks to you I've done all that work for nothing!" Gohan realized what he was saying and he placed a hand in front of his mouth. He was not supposed to tell all this to an outsider. _

_Vegeta thought about this for a moment and then headed for the door. "Fine. You're staying here." He stated briefly. _

_Gohan looked up. "What?" _

"_I don't want a comrade who runs away from his problems. I can't count on you if you're gone when I need you. You're worth nothing to me like that. Stay here. I have no business with you." Vegeta stated before he left the room._

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

_The half-saiyan eyed the beautiful blue sky. "Maybe we could go out and swim in the lake this evening." He suggested as he looked at his two friends. "The weather is beautiful." _

_Oriko and Judin exchanged glances, somewhat uncomfortable. Gohan noticed the silence and he sent them a questioning glance. "What?" _

"_We… ehh… It's group night tonight." Oriko said hesitantly. _

"_Oh…" Gohan nodded. "Right. Sorry. I forgot." _

_The groups were a large part of the social community of the camp. There were four groups in total. Thunder. The strongest warriors and therefore the most influential group. Lighting. The warriors who were fast as lighting. This was the smallest group because their standards were very high. Nobody was fast enough for them. Water. Warriors who were smart enough to work their way around any obstacle. Air. The warriors with special powers like transformations, psychic powers etc. _

_Gohan was entirely ignored by the social system. He was the only warrior who was not part of a group and thus the only warrior who did not have plans on group night._

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

"_Why don't you come over and spent the evening in our lounge." Crimon suggested. _

"_I have plans." Gohan replied automatically. It's not that he hated the specialists but spending time in their lounge often made other cadets think that he got special treatment. He wanted to stop those rumors, which is one of the reasons why he stopped going over to their quarters lately. _

"_It's group night." Crimon raised an eyebrow. "You're probably the only cadet who does not have plans tonight." _

**Chapter 7. Plan Gone Wrong**

The following morning Gohan woke up feeling excited. This was it. This was going to be the day that he was going to free himself of this hell. The half-saiyan was not the first one to wake up today. Judin was already standing at his bed, shaking the boy awake before moving on to Oriko.

The three warriors made their way to the cafeteria where they had their breakfast. Gohan's eyes ran over the cafeteria. The large room was rather intimidating to him when he first came here. Many warriors off different shapes and sizes were sitting at the long tables. Cadets often sat together with members of their own group. Everyone was talking, laughing or yelling. People were eating and burping. Stronger warriors were pushing the weaker ones aside. There was always at least one fight going on. The large windows offered the warriors some natural light from this galaxy's sun.

Gohan's gaze moved up to where the specialists were sitting. He was not surprised when he realized that Hitora was leaning on the balustrade with his arms, studying the cadets. The specialists liked to keep an eye on their little warriors.

"Incoming." Oriko whispered right before Gohan heard some commotion behind him.

Judin smirked as he watched the group come closer. "Good luck." He whispered to Gohan.

The half-saiyan returned the smirk before a hand landed on his shoulder. Gohan looked back to find Himona glaring at him. "You!" The older warrior snarled. "I know it was you! You've crossed the line this time, monkey boy!"

"I didn't do anything." Gohan replied, sounding rather annoyed. "Get lost, pest." The boy turned away from Himona but the older warrior grabbed the boy by the shoulder band of his armor and pulled the half-saiyan off the bench. Himona pulled back a fist to punch the younger warrior. Gohan blocked this punch with ease and spit into Himona's face.

This only angered the older cadet even more and he swung at Gohan again. The half-saiyan stepped back to avoid this one and he motioned for Himona to come at him again. "Come on, Himona. Give it to me." He yelled. "All you do is talk. You can't defeat me. You can't even hit me."

Himona yelled and attacked Gohan. The half-saiyan decided to fight back. He needed to draw the attention of the guards. The two easily drew a crowd. Fights were appreciated around here, and Gohan was a good fighter.

It did not take the other cadets long to jump in the fight. Oriko and Judin gladly joined, taking part in the fighting eagerly. Gohan bumped into someone and he was forced to step back. He frowned in annoyance. He wanted to get closer to Himona. The half-saiyan tilted his head sideways when someone wildly tried to punch him and he brought up his leg to knee the man in the stomach.

Stepping aside, Gohan's eyes searched for the person he wanted to fight. Himona. He wanted to settle the score while he still could. Gohan gave a sigh when he felt a cadet trying to attack him from behind. The boy leaned forwards to avoid it and the cadet, finding no resistance, flew over the half-saiyan and landed on the ground in front of him.

Gohan ignored the curses from this cadet as he studied his surroundings. All he really saw were backs and fronts. The boy was standing in the middle of the crowd. He was too small to see anything around him. The half-saiyan decided to fly up but a hand curled around his ankle. Gohan looked down, raising an eyebrow when he realized a guard was holding onto him.

The corners of Gohan's mouth moved up. He might as well. The boy whirled around and kicked the guard in the face. He chuckled when the man fell back and Gohan landed on his chest. "Just what I needed. A stool." Gohan mocked as he looked around.

The guard growled in anger and tried to grab his foot but the half-saiyan jumped up to avoid him and landed on his chest again with some extra force, making the guard gasp in pain. "Now Now. Stools don't try to kick off their masters." Gohan said as he glanced at the man coldly.

"Get off me, you beast." The guard ordered, still sounding out of breath.

"I stopped obeying you guys a long time ago." Gohan muttered as he tried to look over the cadets. He couldn't find Himona. Damn it.

"Be thankful that I don't have the remote, boy!"

The half-saiyan gave up on finding Himona and he now glared down at the guard. Gohan brought up his leg and stomped down with one foot. He smirked when the guard let out a pained shout.

Gohan decided to jump off now and search for Himona. All around him guards started to jump in but Gohan kicked them off easily. He was not in the mood for a fight with the guards. There was only one person whom Gohan wanted to fight…

There.

Gohan's gaze locked onto Himona and he ran closer to the cadet. Gohan pulled back a fist and punched Himona right off his feet. The older cadet stumbled back and landed on the ground. He looked up to find Gohan standing over him. The half-saiyan jumped in the air, made a loop and landed on Himona's stomach. The cadet was forced to let out all the air in his lungs.

The half-saiyan jumped to the ground and kicked the man in the side, forcing Himona to roll over onto his stomach. Gohan kicked him again and Himona landed face-up on the ground. The half-saiyan studied the pained expression on Himona's dark red face. This is what he lived for. Revenge.

Himona suddenly kicked at Gohan's feet. The half-saiyan jumped up to avoid being swiped off his feet but this gave Himona enough time to get up fully. Gohan let his body sink into a fighting stance. It didn't take Himona long to attack. Gohan watched as the man tensed the muscles in his legs before jumping at Gohan.

The two exchanged punches. During their fight, Gohan realized that the crowd around them was thinning. The guards were overpowering the group of cadets. Gohan stumbled back when a hand locked around his shoulder. He glanced back and noticed there was a guard standing behind him.

The boy kicked backwards and the guard stumbled back, clutching his stomach with his hands. Gohan turned back to Himona only to catch a punch. He let out a breath. Himona almost got him there.

Two guards were standing behind Himona but they did not do anything. Gohan only got a moment to be confused at that before two strong arms locked around his frame and pressed his arms against his sides.

The half-saiyan assumed it was a reckless guard and he powered up to break the man's grip on his body but the force behind him was too strong. That could only mean one thing. The boy looked over his shoulder and realized he was not captured by a guard, but by a specialist.

"Look!" Hitora said cheerfully. "I caught a monkey!" The guards laughed along with a few other cadets.

Gohan gave an animalistic growl and he elbowed the specialist in the abdomen. The man did not expect this and he was forced to release the half-saiyan. Gohan jumped away and landed on the ground, turning to Hitora immediately.

"Oh?" Hitora's expression changed somewhat and he lowered into a fighting stance. "You want to fight, Saiyan? Let's go then."

Gohan hesitated for a moment. This was not part of the plan. His gaze shot to Oriko and Judin, who were watching from the sidelines, but his friends could only watch in shock. The specialists weren't supposed to get involved with their escape attempts.

"What are you waiting for?" Hitora urged. Gohan looked back at him. He would have to. He was not going to turn down a fight.

Gohan powered up when suddenly the cadets around him started to scream and fell to their knees. Gohan and Hitora looked around in a confused manner until the golden bracelet on Gohan's wrist let out a spark and Gohan felt the intense pain of the electricity that ran down his arms and over his entire body. The half-saiyan could feel it penetrating every pore of his skin and crawling deeply into his body.

Gohan tried to keep standing but his knees were shaking so heavily that he had to fall to the ground. Hitora's mouth tightened for a moment as he watched four guards grab the half-saiyan and restrain him. The specialist crunched up his nose at their fear for the boy. They always seemed to treat Gohan with extra caution and extra manpower. If you asked him, that wasn't necessary at all. It was just a brat.

Hitora let out a sigh and flew back to the balcony of the specialists. Headmaster and Crimon were standing near the balustrade and they sent Hitora questioning glances.

"Saiyan started a fight." Hitora explained as he landed on the balcony. The man reached up to tie his black hair into a tail.

"Why didn't you finish it?" Crimon asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hitora shrugged. "That's okay. I've got his group for the first two hours today. I'll get my chance to get back at him." He responded cheerfully.

The three specialists watched as the crowd was sorted out by the guards. Gohan was still kneeling on the ground when one of the guards took the lead. "Who started this fight?"

Silence.

"Who?" The supervising guard screamed. "Tell me who started this or we'll beat you all up!"

One of the cadets pointed at Gohan. "He started it." He announced. Other cadets backed up this accusation.

Judin shook his head. "That's not true. He did not start the fight." He said to defend Gohan.

One of Himona's followers frowned. "Wait. This doesn't make sense. Why would his own friends accuse him…?" The boy could not finish his sentence because another cadet elbowed him in the side. The two exchanged glares but the sentence was never completed.

"Well. Whether he started it or not, as long as we punish someone this will be done with." One of the guards muttered to the other. "Besides, the brat always causes trouble. There's a chance that he really started it."

Gohan tried not to show a satisfied smile when he heard the guards' conversation. Their hatred for him would help them this time.

The supervising guard moved up his hands to beckon for the cadets to be quiet. "SILENCE." He yelled. "Let his punishment be a warning to you all once he returns to you after days of torture in the dungeon!"

The man grabbed his black stick and brought it down on Gohan's shoulder harshly. The half-saiyan fell forward to the ground. He tried not to show them how much that hurt, but when the other guards stepped closer he realized that he would have to try a lot harder.

One of the guards gave a mean kick to Gohan's ribcage. The other guards created a circle around the bounded half-saiyan and they all let out triumphant howls and yells as they kicked and stomped at the half-saiyan. Gohan's hands were still tied behind his back and he tried to curl his body into a ball, defenseless against the attacks that were coming from every angle.

Oriko and Judin exchanged uncertain glances. On the balcony Headmaster leaned on the balustrade with his arms. "The guards are in a good mood today." He said.

"They shouldn't be. It's not like they caught the boy." Hitora complained. The man rolled his eyes. "They let someone else do the hard work and walk away with the prize. We really need to train them better."

After nasty kick to his face, Gohan spit out some blood. He waited for the next blow but the supervising guard ordered the other guards to back off.

Oriko landed on his knees next to Gohan. "This is getting way out of hand." He whispered to the half-saiyan as he studied the boy's injuries.

"Those jailers can't hurt me." Gohan responded in a whisper before he spit out another batch of blood.

"Yes. You look peachy." Oriko replied sarcastically. The supervising guard hit Oriko away by bringing his stick down on the boy's shoulder. After this he ordered the other guards to pick Gohan up and they did.

The half-saiyan grimaced momentarily but he forced his face to return to a solemn expression. The leader of the guards looked at all of them. "This is what happens when you disobey us!" The man pointed at Gohan with his stick.

"What?" Gohan licked his lips to clean the blood off them but only managed to smear more of it on them. "You'll give me more of your sweet kisses?" He mocked.

Some laughs were heard in response to this. The supervising guard eyed Gohan for a moment and lowered his stick. The man nodded to the doorway. "Let's go." He said and he started walking. "We'll personally bring this monkey to the dungeon."

Hitora, Headmaster and Crimon watched as the guards walked away with the half-saiyan. "Something is going on today." Headmaster stated. "Why did Gohan's friends rat him out?"

"Judin and Oriko hardly defended him either." Crimon added, frowning a little. His lilac hands tightened around the bar of the balustrade. "That's not like them. They would rather get beaten up themselves than watch their friend go down and they certainly don't mind getting thrown in the dungeon as long as they're together."

"They're planning something." Hitora grabbed the balustrade with his hands. "What do you say we put some pressure on the two musketeers?" He suggested.

Crimon grinned and nodded. The two specialists jumped off the balcony so that they could fly down. "Keep them in one piece!" Headmaster called after them. The man sighed. "Children. All of them."

Oriko and Judin watched as the remaining guards spread around the room. Oriko turned to Judin. "I knew I should have taken Gohan's part in this." He complained.

Judin shook his head. "No. Himona wouldn't just accuse you of that prank without proof. Besides, the guards are prejudiced against half-breed too. He was the best option. I didn't expect this to happen though."

Oriko sighed. "Let's just focus on our part of the plan." He responded and he was about to turn back to their table when Hitora and Crimon landed on the ground in front of them.

The two cadets saluted. Crimon waved their salute away. "At ease." He stated. The man placed his hands on his hips. "So, guys. What just happened here?"

"You saw what happened, sir." Judin responded innocently.

"Don't play me for a fool, boy. You three have been living here way too long for me to fall for any of that." Crimon responded in a louder voice.

"I don't know what you want me to say, sir." Judin replied. The boy seemed a little intimidated. Gohan might have an easygoing relationship with the specialists but Oriko and Judin did not have that and they just recently started getting into real trouble to such an extent that the specialists would personally deal with them. The guards usually took care of the disciplining.

"Hmm." Hitora stepped closer and grabbed Oriko by the collar of his purple uniform and pulled him closer. "What about you? What are you three planning?"

"Nothing, sir." Oriko sounded surprised and Hitora could not figure out if he was pretending or not.

"We were just as surprised as you were." Judin added. His bright green eyes seemed serious. "Gohan was set up."

Hitora released Oriko. The two specialists exchanged glances. They didn't buy it.

Crimon smirked as he eyed the two young warriors. "Okay, kids. I think it's time we had a stern word with you two." He said as he stepped closer.

Hitora followed his example and the amused gleam in his eyes was enforced by the hesitant looks on the faces of Oriko and Judin. The two cadets stepped back.

Meanwhile Gohan forced his body to keep walking so that he would not have to lean on the arms of the guards. They reached the dungeon and the supervising guard opened a cell door. He did not immediately close the door behind Gohan but reached in his armor and tossed a small cloth at the boy.

Gohan caught it and sent the man a confused glance. The supervising guard nodded at Gohan. "When you came here five years ago I thought you would never survive but you did and you've become more of a man than most of the warriors here." He stated before he turned to the open area outside the cells. He grabbed a bucket and filled it with water before walking back to the cell. He placed it on the ground and walked away again.

The man closed the cell door. "Clean yourself." He ordered as he locked the door. "You're a brave kid. We need people like you in this universe."

Gohan smiled a little and watched the man walk away before he knelt down next to the bucket and dipped the cloth in the water. The half-saiyan decided to sit down and he could finally show a pained expression. Oh man, his head was hurting.

The half-saiyan spent the next half hour cleaning the blood off his face. His nose wouldn't stop bleeding, which made Gohan rather worried. Maybe his body had gotten too many beatings in the last few years and it wouldn't heal anymore. Was there an end to the healing ability of the body? Gohan wouldn't know. His knowledge of the human body was limited. He knew saiyans healed easily and quickly but he wasn't sure if that applied to half-saiyans as well.

Gohan just lay down on the stone bench when he heard a voice near the entrance of the dungeon. Yells were accompanied by the sounds of fighting and Gohan sat up. He walked closer to cell door and wrapped his hands around the bars as he tried to see what was going on.

Judin appeared a few seconds later. He was accompanied by another cadet who was a member of their Freedom Group. Gohan stepped back when Judin opened the door.

"What took you so long?" Gohan asked while Judin pulled the door open.

"The specialists." Judin replied, frowning a little. "I think they're on to us. They kept asking us questions about you getting caught in a fight today. They think we're planning something."

Gohan made a worried face. "But how…" He realized that he told Vegeta about the escape attempt… Would Vegeta tell the specialists? Gohan shook his head. "It's too late to stop the plan. We're going through with it."

Judin nodded and they walked to the airshaft and climbed into it. Landing in the library, Gohan smirked when he saw that it was deserted, except for two other cadets. They nodded to Gohan and Judin and followed the two cadets to the hallway. Another cadet joined them later on.

The five knelt down near a corner and Gohan glanced around the corner. Two guards were guarding the security room. Gohan looked up when Oriko appeared on the other side of the hallway. The boy came walking in Gohan's direction and he was about to pass the security room. Another cadet crossed his path, and the cadet randomly pushed Oriko, laughed and started running in the direction that Oriko came from. Oriko gave a frustrated yell and he ran after the offending cadet.

Gohan made a face at the acting of the two cadets, but when they all heard the sounds of fighting, the two guards near the security room exchanged glances and decided to go check it out.

Luckily, the guards were stupid. The half-saiyan waited a moment. Silence. Oriko and the other cadet appeared and they signed that it was clear.

Gohan and Judin quickly entered the security room while the others kept watch. The two knocked out the guard inside the room. "Go ahead." Gohan whispered as he stood by the door.

Judin nodded and he looked at the machines. He studied all the buttons for a moment before pressing one. "This should disable the force field."

The two boys looked up when an alarm went off. Gohan shook his head. "This wasn't supposed to happen." He muttered. "Stop it!"

Judin got the alarm to stop but they both knew that the damage was already done. Now the specialists definitely knew something was happening. Gohan looked up at the camera that kept an eye on the dungeons and he saw that Crimon was there, looking in the cells, searching for Gohan. The man said something and ran out the room.

Gohan bit his lip. If they found him. He would be in so much trouble. The boy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Get your act together, Gohan. This is not the time to be scared. He opened his eyes again and looked up. "Okay." He opened the door and looked at Oriko. "Plan B." He said and Oriko nodded. His friend ran away.

Gohan looked at the others. "You heard me. Get to your post! Tell everyone you see." The cadets followed his orders and scrambled.

Judin appeared next to Gohan. "We might have to fight them." He said. "They were already suspicious of us. They're going to track us down."

Gohan shook his head. "No." He said. "Let's go."

The two waited for the alarm to set off again. Gohan knew that this time the alarm was triggered by a fire in the cafeteria. A fire started by Oriko. A distraction for the specialists and the guards. The cafeteria was near the main entrance, so while everyone was rushing to the area of the fire, the Freedom Group would be sneaking out through the backdoor.

A large group of cadets was hanging out in and near the library now. Most of them were studying, reading or silently talking. They all looked up when Gohan and Judin appeared in the doorway. The half-saiyan motioned for them to follow him.

Oriko joined them. Gohan smiled at his friend and the three friends led the rest of the group to the back entrance. Classes were about to start so they avoided the area where the classrooms were. They started running so that they could surprise the guards who were guarding the backdoor.

Gohan was the first to run around the corner. He looked ahead and skidded to a stop, his eyes wide. His mouth fell open.

Specialists. All seven of them. A special welcoming committee for the group of cadets who all stopped right behind him. Gohan slowly shook his head as he stepped back. This couldn't be happening. Not now.

"Look who decided to grace us with their presence. The three musketeers and their little entourage." Aiku taunted.

"It's over." Headmaster stated in a clear voice.

Gohan narrowed his eyes as the happenings of the previous few days ran through his mind and he slowly got in a fighting stance, ready to attack.

"Half-breed. What are you doing?" Oriko whispered as he glanced at his friend. Gohan had been the one who always persisted that they should not attack the specialists. It was a line he did not want to cross, until now.

"I'm getting out of here." Gohan stated. The specialists could see the desperation in his eyes. It was something they'd never seen there before. "And you're not going to stop me. Not this time."

"Gohan. Think about this." Headmaster said slowly. His seal-like face was stern. "You can't defeat all of us."

Gohan stepped closer. "I'm not alone, am I? I'd say it's you who can't defeat all of us."

"But we will definitely try." Headmaster stated. "You see, there is a group of guards waiting right behind you." Gohan didn't look over his shoulder like most of the others. He could feel their life forces. Where did they come from? How did he not notice them, hiding somewhere? "I'll tell you how this is going to go. The guards are going to catch the first timers. My esteemed colleagues will take care of the regulars. Two of us volunteered to catch Judin and Oriko." Gohan noticed how his two friends stepped back. "Two others were eager to take care of catching you."

Gohan did not have to guess which two. He already noticed that Hitora and Crimon were keeping a close eye on him. Headmaster was silent for a moment before he continued. "You can't protect your friends when you're fighting off two specialists, Gohan."

Gohan hesitated for a moment, his gaze shooting to his friends behind him. This was what the specialists were waiting for. Headmaster pointed to Gohan, and Hitora and Crimon immediately grabbed their whips. They made their whips lash in such a way that the whips wrapped around Gohan's ankles.

Gohan looked down just in time to realize what they were planning. Right before they pulled on their whips, Gohan turned around so he would land on his hands. The two specialists were prepared for this and they pulled on the whips again to make Gohan lose his footing.

"RUN." Gohan yelled at the group as he looked up, straining when the two specialists playfully pulled on the whips around his ankles again. The half-saiyan was very clear about what they had to do when they got caught. Gohan, Judin and Oriko would most definitely get caught, and a few regulars would be recognized, but the first-timers could run for it and escape the wrath of the specialists because they weren't really seen, and that was what they had to do now.

Headmaster realized that there would be problems. Half of the group was obeying Gohan's order and were running away in all directions, but the main core of the group was coming to Gohan's rescue, despite his complaints.

"Guards! Grab them!" Headmaster called as he got into the frenzy.

Oriko and Judin made a grab for Gohan, who had gotten on his hands and knees again, but Hitora and Crimon pulled on the whips again, forcing Gohan's knees from under him and making Oriko and Judin grab for thin air. The two specialists started to pull Gohan closer and closer.

Gohan flew up and tried to fly away from them. He looked back when he felt the strain of their whips against his ankles and met their rather amused gazes. Gohan clenched his fists. He would not lose this time. He was going to resist them all the way down. He extended his hands and prepared two blasts. The half-saiyan heard screams and yells and sounds of resisting students around him and he glanced sideways to realize that two separate specialists were holding Oriko and Judin down already.

Suddenly, the bracelet around Gohan's wrist sparked and he screamed when a dosage of electricity shot through his body. The boy fell to the ground instantly, gasping when he realized this did not stop Hitora and Crimon from reeling him in.

The electricity that was still running through his body kept him from resisting and it wasn't long before he could feel how the whips were untangled from his ankles and two pairs of hands grabbed his arms and roughly pinned them behind his back. Hitora and Crimon high-fived behind Gohan's back and congratulated each other on a great catch, as if they'd just been fishing.

Headmaster surveyed the students that got caught. Not all of the offending students were there. The man walked to Oriko and Judin, grabbed them by their arms and started back to where Gohan, Hitora and Crimon were standing.

"The first-timers will go to the dungeon for two weeks. The regulars will spend three days in the ice room before they go on to the dungeon." Headmaster ordered. The man stopped and released Judin and Oriko when they were standing near Gohan.

"I guess you're not done scrubbing our toilets yet, are you little brat?" Crimon placed both hands on Gohan's shoulders and leaned over him from behind.

Hitora roughly ruffled Gohan's hair. "We'll let you scrub our toilets every day from now on." He said cheerfully.

Crimon stood straight again but kept his hands on Gohan's shoulders. "Don't worry. Hitora's just joking. You'll be so busy scrubbing our floors, tables, windows and everything else to clean the toilets _every_ day."

Gohan clenched his fists but he didn't say anything. That would only make this all even worse. Hitora grinned at his comrade. "Our little cleaning monkey."

"Stop it, you two." Headmaster said as he signed for the guards to come closer. "Six guards are to escort these three to isolation." He stated. "Keep a guard on them at all times." He said when the guards walked closer. "They'll stay in there until I decide that it's time for them to get out."

Crimon and Hitora were somewhat hesitant to let Gohan go. Especially Crimon always insisted on punishing Gohan and he wasn't done with the half-saiyan yet.

"But…" Crimon tightened his grip on Gohan's shoulders when the half-saiyan was pulled away by one of the guards.

"Let him go, Crimon." Headmaster ordered, rather amused by Crimon's antics.

The half-saiyan stuck out his tongue to the specialist before he was dragged away by the guards.

"Just you wait, brat." Crimon yelled at him. "This is not over!"

Gohan, Judin and Oriko exchanged miserable glances as they were pushed out the room. They were silent as the guards brought them to the isolation cells. The three boys were allowed to stand together for a moment while the guards got the three cells ready.

"Keep your chin up. At least there won't be any noises to disturb your hypersensitive ears." Oriko whispered after Gohan let out a miserable sigh.

"We failed, Oriko. This was our last chance. They warned me." Gohan replied, keeping his voice low. "They're not going to let us get away with this."

"Oh come on. We're going to be put in the hole. What more can they do to us?" Judin shrugged. "They can't break us apart and they can't break our spirit. We're everlasting, remember?" Judin tried to catch Gohan's eyes but the half-saiyan didn't look at him.

"Seeing those saiyans really got you down, little saiyan." Oriko muttered when Gohan continued to stay silent.

The half-saiyan opened his mouth to reply but a poke of a guard's stick to his shoulder silenced him. "Shut up, your piece of saiyan trash." A guard snarled at him. The young warrior let the guard push him into the small cell before untying his hands.

Turning around, Gohan could only watch as the guard closed the cell door and then turned to walk out the room. The only light that Gohan could see now came from the hallway, but the boy knew that as soon as the guard would close the door, that light would be gone as well. Complete darkness.

Several hours later, Gohan was woken up by a cold sensation, all over his body. The boy gasped audibly and tried to crawl away. He fell off the bench and shied away under it, crawling from one side to the other to escape the mercilessly strong beam of icy water that was directed at him. Eventually he curled himself up and moved up his arms to protect his face. "Stop it already!" He screamed at the water beam.

The beam of water listened. Gohan gasped for air again and wrapped his arms around his torso. His wet uniform felt cold against his skin. He narrowed his eyes because of the light. After spending hours in this completely dark cell, his eyes weren't used to the light.

"Good afternoon, Saiyan." A low voice said cheerfully.

Gohan got up, gritting his teeth. "Don't you have anything better to do than harassing your students?" He snarled as he curled his hands around the bars of his cage. The bars were made of the strongest metal in the universe. Not a blast could scratch them and it took a lot of power to bend them. Even if someone would try to bend them, a high-dose of electricity would come free and knock-out the person who was trying it.

"You're a special case, aren't you?" Hitora was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed while Crimon was putting away the hose.

"Lucky me." Gohan leaned against the bars with his forehead, closing his eyes. He honestly didn't mind that they were visiting him. It was nice to have someone to talk to. He was supposed to be locked up in complete darkness all day. The room was way too small in his opinion and having nobody to talk to was horrible. The fact that he could not train or run or get out his energy in any other way made the whole thing a horrible experience for the boy.

A finger appeared in his vision, curled itself under Gohan's chin and pushed his face up. "You look tired." Crimon stated as he studied the half-saiyan.

Gohan pulled back. "It's been a rough couple of days." He continued to hold the bars, leaning back a bit now. That was an understatement. He was still recovering from the harsh fight he had with Hitora and Crimon. Aside from that his limbs were stiff because of the beating the guards gave him and his legs were hurting more than usual, especially near his ankles. Also, he'd been under the influence of the electricity bracelet twice in one day. That took a toll on his body.

"What are you two doing here?" Gohan considered his own words for a moment and a scared look appeared on his face. "You're not here for a spar, are you? You can't do that to me. I'm not in shape right now."

"That doesn't matter when you fight us, does it? You'll never be strong enough to beat us." Hitora replied. "Honestly, I would love to spar with you right now."

Crimon nodded as he went to open the door to Gohan's cell. "I agree. I wish we could train right now. Sadly, we're here for something else."

"Something else?" Gohan asked while the door finally opened. He stepped out the cage and gave the two an expectant look. "What?"

"It's a surprise." Hitora turned his back on the boy and started walking. Gohan decided to follow him.

"Last time you 'surprised' me I ended up strapped to a table while the guards were putting an electricity bracelet on me." Gohan replied, giving Crimon a pointed look.

"It's not like you to hold a grudge." Crimon tousled Gohan's hair.

Gohan glanced back to the doors. "Are Judin and Oriko still in there?"

"Yep." Crimon did not look back. "We'll keep them there for a couple more days. We're feeling lenient."

"What about me?" Gohan looked up at them.

"That's a surprise." Hitora closed the door and was now catching up to them.

"Hmm…" Gohan quickly glanced around. He clenched his fists as he gradually powered up.

Suddenly, he whirled around and started in the opposite direction of where they were going. He was about to turn the corner when headmaster appeared in front of him. "Stop." Gohan skidded to a stop. He widened his eyes a little. "We figured you would try something like that."

Gohan turned around when headmaster motioned for him to turn around. He made an annoyed sound when Headmaster gave him a push against his back, and started walking.

Crimon and Hitora waited for him to reach them. "Nice try." Crimon complimented when Gohan appeared next to them.

"Thanks." Gohan gave a little smirk as he started walking again. "So, where are we going?" He tried to run once and now he was ready to face whatever they had in store for him. It must be some kind of punishment. He knew they weren't going to let him get away with what he did.

"And he keeps asking the same question." Crimon said out loud.

"No matter how many times we give the same answer." Hitora added, shaking his head as if he couldn't believe it.

"Tssk. Maybe if you would give me an answer I can work with, I will stop asking questions." Gohan replied, frowning up at them.

"Patience is a virtue, Gohan." Headmaster gently tousled Gohan's hair.

"Didn't you hear Crimon's speech the day before yesterday? Saiyans tend to rush into things." Gohan replied innocently.

"You gave the Saiyan lecture?" Hitora asked, looking at his colleague.

"Hey, he was leaving. Do you know how little Saiyans we get here? Aside from Vegeta, he's been the only saiyan cadet. And he was only born because there was a saiyan crazy enough to breed outside their proud race. The chance that any of the remaining saiyans reproduce is very small. Even if they do decide to get kids they won't place the cubs here. I took advantage of the moment that we still had one to talk about."

Gohan suddenly stopped walking. The others looked at him. "You're taking me to the saiyans, aren't you?" He asked.

"Don't be silly. Keep walking, Gohan." Headmaster pushed against Gohan back again but the half-saiyan didn't walk this time.

"I'm not going back to them. They decided to leave me here. They said they would leave me alone." Gohan said, shaking his head slowly.

"Are you really that gullible?" Crimon asked, raising an eyebrow. "Vegeta just wanted to see how you would try to escape."

Gohan looked at him. "They told you we were going to escape, didn't they? You've known all along."

"Yes, we did. Now walk." Headmaster now gave a harsh push against Gohan's back but the half-saiyan shook his head again.

"So all that crap about wanting to take me as an apprentice was just a farce." Gohan said, as he stepped back. He realized that he was hurt. Emotionally hurt by their lies. "I'm not going back to them. I'd rather die."

Crimon chuckled. "Well, if you keep behaving like this Vegeta will probably be happy to give you that wish. For now," The man moved up his arm as if he wanted to hit Gohan, and while the half-saiyan moved up his arms to protect his head, the man's other hand shot to Gohan's waist and grabbed his tail, "you can choose." Gohan realized that Crimon tricked him and he was now glaring up at the man. "You can come with us on your own feet or I'll drag you all the way there by your tail."

"Let me go." Gohan hissed at him.

"I will. Once we're there. Let's go." Crimon playfully tugged on Gohan's tail and started walking. The half-saiyan considered trying to pull his tail free but he knew that once Crimon would get one good squeeze in, he would be at their mercy, and that was not a good position to be in.

Gohan followed Crimon. "Good boy." Hitora cooed as he tousled Gohan's hair. The half-saiyan hit his hand away.

"The only good thing about those goons picking me up is that I'll be rid of you!" He snarled back at them.

They reached the room that Gohan was already dreading the moment he could feel those three familiar power levels. The half-saiyan looked up at Crimon. "Can you let me go now?"

"Almost." Crimon replied as he watched headmaster type in a password to open the door to the spare office. The door opened and Crimon gave Gohan a push against his back, forcing the half-saiyan to stumble inside the room.

Gohan immediately caught sight of the three saiyans, sitting on the other side of the small desk. The door closed behind him and Gohan turned to it. He punched in the code to open the door but nothing happened.

Gohan placed his hands on the closed door. Why did it not open? He used to right code. What was going on?

He could hear Crimon's voice coming from the other side of the door. "I knew he had our master code. I told you so! That's how those brats have been getting into our offices so easily."

"How did he get it?" Headmaster asked. "We should change the password just in case he told it to any of his friends."

"Brat." Vegeta's voice made Gohan look sideways. The half-saiyan stepped back to create distance between them. This room was way too small for his taste. "Did you enjoy your time in the hole?" Vegeta smirked at him. "Had a nice nap?"

The half-saiyan crossed his arms over each other as his eyes ran over the windows. Maybe he could jump through one of them. "What do you want?" He asked as he looked back at Vegeta.

"You." Vegeta said without missing a beat. "Why don't you sit down?" He nodded to the chair that was standing on Gohan's side of the desk.

Gohan tensed when Raditz stepped away from his comrades and approached him. "I'd rather stand." He said as his eyes followed his uncle.

"You're soaking wet." Raditz reached out to grab a chunk of Gohan's wet hair. "What happened?"

Gohan pushed the man's hand away. "The specialists pulled a prank on me." He replied before he looked back to Vegeta. He'd gauged his uncle's power and realized that Raditz wasn't all that scary. Vegeta was the strongest one. He was Gohan's main concern. "Why don't you just leave? I don't want to come with you."

"You cost us too much to just let you go." Vegeta shook his head. "Why would we put you here if we weren't planning on picking you up later? I would have killed you otherwise."

"I cost you? You cost me five years of my life!" Gohan snarled at them.

"You should have expected us to come for you sooner or later." Nappa added as he stepped closer as well.

"Why didn't you take me yesterday? Why did you let me think I had a chance to leave this place when in reality you sabotaged my plan all along? My friends are being punished right now because of you!"

"I don't care about your pathetic friends." Vegeta snarled back as he got up. Gohan stepped back. Vegeta only leaned on the table with his hands. "As for why we let you perform your little plan; I was curious to see what you came up with. According to the specialists, you are one of the driving forces behind your little gang." The man's smirk appeared on his face again. "I must say I was impressed. Too bad they caught you."

Gohan clenched his fists as he glared at the man. Raditz suddenly placed his hands on Gohan's shoulders and forced the boy to walk to the chair. "Why don't you sit down?" He suggested as he pushed Gohan down on the chair.

The half-saiyan moved up his hands to push Raditz away but the man already released him and was making his way back to the desk. Vegeta was seated once more and opened a rather thick file.

"I have to admit your life here has been interesting." Vegeta stated as he flipped through the pages.

"That's my file." Gohan observed, frowning a little.

Vegeta nodded. "Every breath that you took during your stay here is documented in these files." The man stopped at a certain page. "I have to say that these pages are the most interesting." The man leaned on the desk with his elbows and he curled his fingers together, leaning his chin on his entwined hands. "In these past few years you made several escape attempts. Starting at age six when you managed to get passed the gates by hiding in the garbage, and ending several months ago when you riled up an entire group and attacked a couple of guards when they were escorting some guests out the gates."

Vegeta's piercing eyes moved up to meet Gohan's gaze. The man just stared at the half-saiyan so Gohan decided to take the lead. "I never said I would stay here." He stated. "You never asked me anything."

"I didn't bring you here so you could escape and run back to you planet." Vegeta snarled back.

"You kidnapped me!" Gohan yelled back. "Did you expect me to stay here quietly and not try to fight back?"

"Don't raise your voice against me, half-breed. It's rude." Vegeta said calmly as he turned another page. Gohan clenched his fists but he did not say anything in response. The boy leaned back on his seat and crossed his arms over each other so that his hands would stop shaking in anger. "We left you here so you could become stronger and eventually help us do our job. Your little attempts to escape were not part of our plan."

"I don't care about your damn plan."

"Honestly, Nappa," Vegeta said, turning to his older comrade, "I remember you telling me that ten years would be the best age because the brat wouldn't be in puberty yet, but the only thing I encounter here is bad manners and a big mouth. I guess human puberties set in earlier than saiyan ones." Vegeta said, sounding like he was teasing Gohan.

The half-saiyan got off the chair and turned his back on the saiyans. He walked to the doorway and bounced on the door with his fist. "Let me out of this room!" He yelled at the specialists, who were still outside. "I don't want to spend one more second with these disgusting horrible..."

"Disgusting eh?" Vegeta's voice whispered in Gohan's ear. The man was standing right next to him and Gohan stumbled back, bouncing against the wall with his back in his eagerness to create distance between Vegeta and his own body.

The man ignored Gohan's wishes and only stepped closer. "You dare call me disgusting? You're nothing more than a filthy hybrid. In our culture we are taught that hybrids are the most despicable beings in this universe. There's no sign of pure blood in your system. It's all distorted and mixed into this pathetic little piece of garbage that is standing in front of me." The man placed his hand on the wall to stop the half-saiyan when Gohan tried to move aside.

"If you call me a name one more time I will personally rip out the one object guilty of pumping that disgusting blood through your veins, got it?" Vegeta hissed into Gohan's face.

"You don't scare me." Gohan growled back.

Vegeta stared at Gohan for a moment, still keeping this uncomfortably close distance. The half-saiyan met his gaze without fear.

"You're really not afraid of me." Vegeta stated, somewhat surprised at the young boy's strength. Most grown soldiers would have backed down by now. "Hmmm…" The man could not help but smirk as he leaned in even closer. "Give me time." He whispered before he pulled back.

The man saw a sparkle when he first approached Gohan and he now turned to the golden bracelet around Gohan's wrist. The half-saiyan resisted when Vegeta grabbed his wrist and looked at the bracelet.

"What's this?"

"I found it." Gohan lied immediately.

"You found it?" Vegeta's face was still tilted forward to study Gohan's bracelet but his eyes now moved up to look at Gohan's face. "Really?"

The door opened and Crimon stepped inside. "It's an electricity bracelet." He explained. "Saiyan and his friends were too much for the guards so we had to find a way for the guards to be able to keep the kids under control." Crimon explained as he reached inside his armor and pulled out a remote. "It sends a considerable voltage of electricity through their veins, making it almost impossible to move."

Vegeta held out his hand and Crimon handed the remote to the man. Gohan tried to pull his arm free from Vegeta's grip and the man let him go. "I don't recognize this. It's is a new development." Vegeta said as he looked up at the specialists.

"Of course. Otherwise, you would have definitely been one of the first candidates for the bracelet, kiddo." Crimon replied cheerfully.

Vegeta was not pleased with this reply but he decided to focus on Gohan again. "You lied to me. Why?"

"I'm not going to tell you how to hurt me." Gohan replied before he sent the specialists a glare. "Traitors."

Crimon turned to Vegeta. "Please take him with you once and for all." He said as he pointed to Gohan with his thumb. "Five years is more than enough."

"With pleasure." Vegeta placed a hand on Gohan's shoulder and pulled the boy away from the wall. "Let's go. We're leaving."

"No!" Gohan pushed them all away and walked to the middle of the room, far away from them. "There you go again. You're all just making decisions for me without asking me anything. That's over!" He made a wild gesture with his hands as he said this. "I'm not going anywhere and I'm not doing anything for anyone anymore."

Vegeta glanced at the remote in his hand and he pointed it at Gohan while pressing the button. The half-saiyan widened his eyes for a moment before he fell to the ground with a scream. The boy was shaking heavily as he released a few grunts and growls. Raditz stepped closer and tried to touch the half-saiyan. He widened his eyes when a spark of electricity ran through his entire body and he pulled back with some difficulty.

"I felt that." Raditz muttered as he looked at his hand.

"It's not a pleasurable experience." Crimon admitted. "And I have to admit that we've never really had them on this long. We just use the bracelets to immobilize them temporarily so we can tie them up."

"He can take it." Vegeta stepped closer and reached out. He placed his hand under Gohan's chin, ignoring the sting of the electricity and forced the shaking half-breed to look up at him. Gohan tried hard not to grimace, not to show them how horrible this was. He had to stay strong. Gohan's shaking hand moved up and with a groan he managed to push Vegeta's hand away. He realized that he used up all his power in that one push and he wouldn't be able to catch his fall. He fell forward, landing on the ground. It was okay. He made his point. Even when he was under the influence of the electricity bracelet, he would not let Vegeta mess with him.

Vegeta pressed the button again, turning it off, and got up. He tossed the remote to Crimon. "You were saying?" Vegeta asked as he glanced at Gohan.

The half-saiyan slowly got up. He did not reply. He'd never experienced the pains of the bracelet for such a long time and knowing that Vegeta would easily let it on for such a long time scared him a bit.

Vegeta turned to Crimon. "Let's get everything settled. I don't want to spend any more time in this hellhole."

"At your service, my prince." Crimon said as he bowed in an exaggerating way.

Raditz was reaching into his armor. He pulled out a blue uniform and a basic white armor with two extending shoulders guards. Gohan accepted the clothing when Raditz held it out to him. He might as well cooperate for now.

Crimon, Headmaster, Hitora, Nappa and Vegeta left the room and only Raditz stayed behind to keep an eye on the half-saiyan. He was still holding a pair of gloves and white boots.

"Change." Raditz ordered.

Gohan obeyed the order and he placed the clothing on the table. He ignored Raditz's eyes as he unclasped the bands of his armor before pulling it off. Raditz watched as the boy pulled off his uniform. The man narrowed his eyes for a moment as he studied the boy. It was easy to see that Gohan had been through a lot on this camp. There were no rejuvenation tanks so everything that ever happened to Gohan had to be healed naturally. The man's gaze ran over the many whip scars on the half-saiyan's back, obviously given to him by the specialists. Vegeta had a few of those too. Aside from that Raditz noticed a strange scar that looked like someone carved it into his skin, on the boy's shoulder. There were other scars, smaller ones. Accidents maybe. The moments that Gohan failed to defend his body. That's what happened to fighters.

Raditz decided to focus on the bruises on Gohan's back. The half-saiyan was also sporting a black eye and the boy's nostrils were still a bit red from a recent bloody nose.

"What happened?" Raditz asked.

Gohan looked up at him. "What are you talking about?" He snarled.

Raditz smirked as he stepped closer. "The bruises." He said as he reached out and tapped on Gohan's bruised shoulder. The boy tried to hide a winch, but Raditz caught it.

"The guards got lucky." Gohan replied, shrugging. Gohan decided that he was done showing off his body and he grabbed the blue uniform.

"Wait."

The half-saiyan stopped when Raditz spoke up. "Your legs." The man knelt down and studied the wounds on Gohan's lower legs. The half-saiyan knew he got them when Hitora and Crimon's whips wrapped around his skin tightly. Gohan realized that they were bleeding somewhat. He remembered that his legs were bothering him earlier that day. He forgot about the pain when the specialists and the saiyans distracted him. His boots had been hiding the blood loss.

Gohan allowed Raditz to reach out and grab his lower leg, pulling the leg closer somewhat to check on the wounds. The man studied his leg for a moment but then released him. Gohan looked up when Raditz stood up and turned to the doorway.

"I need a bandage over here." Raditz stated after opening the door.

"Why?" Gohan recognized Vegeta's voice.

"The boy has been whipped recently and his wounds opened again. I need to take care of it." Raditz replied.

Vegeta entered the room and glanced at Gohan's ankles. The man let out a growl. "Leave it to those jerks to damage the boy like that right before we leave." He complained. The man looked Gohan over and Gohan realized that the man's eyes lingered on his shoulders, where a few lines from his past whippings could be seen. Vegeta ordered Gohan to turn around and pull his hair aside. The man laughed when he saw Gohan's back. "I can see that Crimon didn't go easy on you." He stated. "Good. I wanted them to toughen you up." Gohan turned back to the man and Vegeta grinned. "Your skin was looking way too unscathed when we first met each other. Now there's some character in there."

Gohan glared at the man but he did not really know what to say. Vegeta was right. When he first arrived here Gohan's skin was soft and clear. No scars. No bruises or wounds. He had never suffered through pain or real injuries. Once he turned six, Crimon had already whipped him once to warn the half-saiyan never to cross the specialists. Gohan still remembered how much that had hurt. His first encounter with real pain. It wasn't like a fight. There was no adrenaline to numb the pain. There was no defending himself. He was tied up at the time. Only pain and the knowledge that there would be more. Three lashes in total.

Afterwards, Headmaster scolded Crimon. Apparently, Crimon told the others he would only lash Gohan once but he decided to add two others when Gohan was still conscious after the first one, wondering how far he could go, wondering if Gohan would cry, but the boy didn't. Gohan remembered running his hand over his own back and being horrified when he realized that the wounds left long strikes on his back. At the time, Headmaster told Gohan the marks would stay and he mentioned that it was such a waste to see Gohan's unscathed back go. Crimon snorted and attested that it was time for the boy to grow up and that there would be more to come, either by his hand or by the hands of others. It was part of a warrior's life.

The ten-year-old felt way too vulnerable like this. He grabbed his new armor and pulled it on over his naked chest. It wasn't all that much but it was better than nothing. Vegeta did not look at him anymore though. The man walked to the window and looked outside. Nappa told Gohan to sit down on a table so it would be easier for Raditz to reach his legs.

Raditz returned with bandages and sat down on a chair opposite Gohan. The man told Gohan to place his foot on Raditz's lap. Gohan did so and Raditz cleaned the wounds before bandaging it up. No words were said while Raditz took care of the half-saiyan. The room was entirely silent.

Gohan did not really know where to look so he focused on his feet. It was interesting to see how quick Raditz worked. The man seemed to know what he was doing. Gohan wrapped his arms around his body. Even though the sun was shining brightly, Gohan's body felt cold.

The half-saiyan tensed when he realized that Vegeta moved behind him. The man reached out and pushed aside the band of Gohan's armor so he could look at the small scar on Gohan's back. The half-saiyan straightened and Raditz sent the boy an annoyed glance when Gohan's leg moved.

"Sit still." Raditz ordered. "You're holding me up." Gohan looked down at him and wondered whether to follow the order, but Vegeta was already holding his other shoulder in a tight grip.

"I'm just looking." Vegeta stated when Gohan resisted.

"Sit still." Raditz snarled again.

Gohan froze. Vegeta's hand moved away from his one shoulder and Gohan could feel how Vegeta's fingers moved over the scar on his other shoulder. The half-saiyan tried not to shiver. "What is this?" Vegeta asked.

"The mark of the Thunder group." Gohan replied.

Vegeta scoffed. "Don't be smart with me, boy. What is it doing on your shoulder?"

"All cadets who join Thunder are branded with that." Gohan lied.

Vegeta's fingers moved away from Gohan's shoulder and the half-saiyan quickly readjusted the band of his armor again. "That wasn't a tradition when I joined them." He stated.

Gohan shrugged as he looked back. "That was a long time ago. Things change."

"Done." Raditz said. Gohan moved his legs up and looked at his bandaged ankles.

The boy jumped off the table and smiled as he walked a small circle to feel how the bandages walked. "Thanks." He said.

Raditz shrugged. "It had to be done. We can't let those wounds get infected." He replied before he gently pushed against Gohan's shoulder. "Get dressed." He ordered.

Gohan nodded and turned to the table. He pulled the armor off and quickly changed into the blue uniform. After pulling on the armor, boots and gloves, Gohan felt a lot better. If only he could take a shower, that would make it even better.

The half-saiyan realized that the others were already leaving the room. He followed when Raditz glanced back at him. "Where are the specialists?" Gohan asked curiously.

"The specialists' quarters." Raditz responded briefly.

"Are we going there as well?" Gohan asked.

"Yes."

"What are we going to do there?"

"We're going to sign the papers so that we can take you with us, nephew of mine."

"What are we going to do after that?"

Raditz glanced at him. "Are you ever going to stop asking questions?"

"You can't answer my question with another question. That's not how it works." Gohan replied indignantly.

"Can you imagine having to listen to that voice all day?" Nappa mentioned to Vegeta, who snorted.

"We'll just have to tame him well." Vegeta replied. "So that he knows not to ask questions all the time."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" Gohan complained.

"Don't talk." Vegeta replied, frowning at Gohan over his shoulder. The half-saiyan sent the man a glare back and crossed his arms over each other in an angry manner.

The group was silent while they walked to the specialists' wing. Headmaster took the three adults to the balcony where they would go through the paperwork. Gohan was told to wait in the specialists' lounge. The half-saiyan watched them go and it suddenly hit him. They were going to take him. He was going to leave the camp. He would never see his friends again. He didn't even get to say goodbye.

The half-saiyan lowered his shoulders and looked down. His tail slumped, the tip landing on the ground sadly. A hand landed on his shoulder and Gohan flinched.

"Not being very vigilant, are we?" Crimon stated while Gohan turned around. The half-saiyan wiped his eyes in case they were watery. He couldn't really tell.

"I was thinking." Gohan muttered in response before he turned to walk away.

"Not so fast." Crimon grabbed hold of Gohan's long spiky hair and Gohan yelped as he stopped walking.

"What the hell?" The half-saiyan complained when Crimon released him.

"Saiyan. I want to say something so be quiet for once and listen." Crimon responded. Gohan realized that the man was serious so he decided to obey. "Vegeta is serious business. He is aggressive and gets angered easily. He won't be as forgiving as we are."

"Forgiving?" Gohan exclaimed loudly. "You nearly whipped off my entire back!"

"Quiet." Crimon snarled. "We might have punished you but we always kept you alive because we had to. Vegeta doesn't. If you continue to behave badly he will kill you, do you understand me?"

"What do you care?" Gohan sent the man a frown. "What do ANY of you care?" His voice was rising as his emotions took control. "You don't. For you I'm just a tool that you can use for your own benefit. That's all I ever was to you and that's all I'll ever be to them!" He pointed at the balcony where the saiyans were.

Crimon looked somewhat surprised. "Where is this coming from?"

"You never wanted to take me as an apprentice, did you?" Gohan's lower lip started to tremble. When the specialists were talking about his future on this camp he felt like they wanted him here. Like he belonged. But it was all a joke to them. "You were just messing with me!"

Crimon placed a lilac hand on his forehead. "Saiyan. We can't do anything about this. You belong with them."

"No. I don't! I refuse to." Gohan stomped on the ground with his white boot.

Hitora decided to help Crimon out. "If we had any say in this, Saiyan, we would keep you here." He said. "The thing is that we don't have a say in this, and we've known that you were going to leave at some point since you arrived here." The man shrugged helplessly. "We usually keep our distance from students because we know they're going to leave. You were a special case. We've never had such young cadets."

The ten-year-old looked down. "I don't want to go with them." He whispered. "Don't make me go with them." These were the voices he heard in his nightmares. The men who visited him in his sleep and tortured him almost every night. Now his nightmares were becoming real.

Crimon and Hitora exchanged glances. Crimon knelt down so he could look at the young warrior. "What are you?" He asked as he cupped Gohan's chin and pushed his face up.

"Crimon." Gohan muttered tiredly. "Not now..."

"Answer my question."

"A saiyan."

"And Saiyans are?"

"The strongest warriors in the universe." Gohan sighed out.

"So?"

"So I'm strong and I cannot let anyone put me down." Gohan said automatically.

"Now remember that." Crimon placed his hand on the side of Gohan's neck. "Whenever you're sad or when you're having a hard time, remember this and we'll be with you in spirit. You're not alone, saiyan."

Gohan stared at Crimon for a moment and he nodded. "Thank you." He said softly. Crimon showed a hint of a smile that looked terrifying but it comforted Gohan in some way.

"Now now, Crimon. I've never seen you be so gentle." Vegeta's voice mocked from the direction of the balcony. Crimon got up fully and released the half-saiyan. "It's hard to imagine that you were once the most feared warriors in the universe. All tamed by a little brat."

Crimon chuckled. "Everyone knows that's not true. We are still known for being the strongest warriors aside from the Ginyu Force, and as I remember it correctly the Ginyu Force still overpowers every single one of you as well."

Vegeta narrowed his eyes. "Not for long." He responded before he looked at the half-saiyan. "Let's go." He ordered.

Gohan looked at his teachers. He looked at the room where he spent the last five years in. He was not ready to leave yet. Still, he followed the saiyans. His body followed almost automatically while his mind was screaming at him to do something. Stop this. Fight them.

But he didn't know how. What was he supposed to do afterwards? He couldn't defeat Vegeta. That much he knew. For now, he would just have to be quiet and obey orders.

Crimon placed a hand on Gohan's shoulder and Hitora briefly tousled the boy's hair. The others nodded at the half-saiyan when he walked passed them. Only Headmaster walked with them to walk them out.

Once they reached the doorway, Vegeta stopped and turned to Headmaster. "Oh, I nearly forgot. Take off the bracelet." He said.

Headmaster looked up. "Are you sure?" He asked. Gohan was already standing in front of him, holding out his arms with a grin on his face.

"Yes. I can do without it." Vegeta responded.

Headmaster smirked when he saw the happy expression on Gohan's face while he removed the bracelet. Gohan rubbed his hands over the skin where his bracelet used to be. That felt so good. He would never be entirely rid of the bracelet though. There was still a burn mark created by the heat of the electricity that shot through his body every time, but it was better than having that bracelet on.

Headmaster took Gohan aside and knelt down to whisper something to the boy. "Be strong, Gohan. Good luck out there. Oh, you should take a look at the windows while you're in the front garden. The sun will make them shine bright. Especially the ones on the third floor." The man winked at the half-saiyan and Gohan could only give the man a rather confused look.

Raditz called the boy over and Gohan ran to keep up with them. As he walked out into the garden he thought about Headmaster's words. The boy looked up to the third floor and he grinned. There, Hitora and Crimon were standing, but they weren't alone.

Oriko and Judin were there as well. The two were chained together by their wrists but they each had one hand free and they waved at the half-saiyan, grinning as well. The half-saiyan used both his hands to wave at them as he walked backwards.

The boy suddenly reached up and showed his wrist. 'Freedom!' He mouthed to them. He showed the official Freedom Group sign by locking his thumbs together and spreading his fingers. The wings that represented their way out of this place. For now, Gohan was the only one who received the wings, but he knew the others would get them soon as well.

The half-saiyan looked over his shoulder when Raditz called out to hurry up. He gave his old friends one more glance and realized that Oriko and Judin created the Freedom Sign together, awkwardly locking each other's thumbs together since they only had one free hand. Gohan grinned as he studied the four familiar faces one more time before he gave one last wave and turned to the gates. He ran to catch up with the others.

Gohan was going to enjoy walking out of the camp he'd been trying to leave for so long.

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

**I hope you enjoyed it! Please review and let me know what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8: Meeting The Boss

**Hey guys! **

**Here's chapter 8!**

**Previously on A Half-breed's Life:**

_His father's screams rang through his head. Raditz's laugh as he tortured his father. Vegeta's last words before he left…_

"_If he can't survive, he's not worth our time."_

_Fine. They wanted him to toughen up? He would toughen up. Those specialists wanted him to work and train? Fine. He would do just that and he would become the strongest warrior in this camp and once those three saiyans returned…_

_Gohan narrowed his eyes at the wall in front of him as he leaned on the sink. _

"_I'm going to kill them."_

***** DBZ *** DBZ *****

"_Does anyone know who is getting picked up today?" Gohan asked, glancing at his friends. "Is it someone from our group?" _

"_Nobody really knows." Oriko replied, frowning a little. "It's a secret."_

_Gohan sported a mischievous expression. "We could sneak into headmaster's office and see if we can find out who is leaving." He suggested. _

"_I don't think that's necessary." Oriko was looking at something in front of them. Gohan was looking at Judin when Oriko spoke and the boy glanced at his older friend, who was still staring ahead. Everyone suddenly fell silent and looked ahead._

"_Why not?" Gohan asked before finally looking ahead to see what made everyone look so surprised. _

_The boy's mouth fell open as his eyes landed on the people in front of him. The color drained from his face and the boy stepped back. _

"_Good day, half-saiyan. Long time no see."_

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

"_No! I don't want to come with you!" Gohan clenched his fists. "Why did you even come here today? Why couldn't you just wait for a few more days so I could escape from this place?" _

_Vegeta stopped. "Escape?" He repeated._

"_Yes." Gohan sounded miserable now. "I had it all figured out. I had a plan. We were going to try it out tomorrow. But thanks to you I've done all that work for nothing!" Gohan realized what he was saying and he placed a hand in front of his mouth. He was not supposed to tell all this to an outsider. _

_Vegeta thought about this for a moment and then headed for the door. "Fine. You're staying here." He stated briefly. _

_Gohan looked up. "What?" _

"_I don't want a comrade who runs away from his problems. I can't count on you if you're gone when I need you. You're worth nothing to me like that. Stay here. I have no business with you." Vegeta stated before he left the room._

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_Hitora, Headmaster and Crimon watched as the guards walked away with the half-saiyan. "Something is going on today." Headmaster stated. "Why did Gohan's friends rat him out?" _

"_Judin and Oriko hardly defended him either." Crimon added, frowning a little. His lilac hands tightened around the bar of the balustrade. "That's not like them. They would rather get beaten up themselves than watch their friend go down and they certainly don't mind getting thrown in the dungeon as long as they're together."_

"_They're planning something." Hitora grabbed the balustrade with his hands. "What do you say we put some pressure on the two musketeers?" He suggested. _

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_Gohan was the first to run around the corner. He looked ahead and skidded to a stop, his eyes wide. His mouth fell open. _

_Specialists. All seven of them. A special welcoming committee for the group of cadets who all stopped right behind him. Gohan slowly shook his head as he stepped back. This couldn't be happening. Not now._

"_Look who decided to grace us with their presence. The three musketeers and their little entourage." Aiku taunted. _

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"_Brat." Vegeta's voice made Gohan look sideways. The half-saiyan stepped back to create distance between them. This room was way too small for his taste. "Did you enjoy your time in the hole?" Vegeta smirked at him. "Had a nice nap?"_

_The half-saiyan crossed his arms over each other as his eyes ran over the windows. Maybe he could jump through one of them. "What do you want?" He asked as he looked back at Vegeta. _

"_You." Vegeta said without missing a beat. "Why don't you sit down?" He nodded to the chair that was standing on Gohan's side of the desk. _

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_The ten-year-old looked down. "I don't want to go with them." He whispered. "Don't make me go with them." These were the voices he heard in his nightmares. The men who visited him in his sleep and tortured him almost every night. Now his nightmares were becoming real. _

_Crimon and Hitora exchanged glances. Crimon knelt down so he could look at the young warrior. "What are you?" He asked as he cupped Gohan's chin and pushed his face up. _

"_Crimon." Gohan muttered tiredly. "Not now..."_

"_Answer my question."_

"_A saiyan." _

"_And Saiyans are?" _

"_The strongest warriors in the universe." Gohan sighed out. _

"_So?" _

"_So I'm strong and I cannot let anyone put me down." Gohan said automatically. _

"_Now remember that." Crimon placed his hand on the side of Gohan's neck. "Whenever you're sad or when you're having a hard time, remember this and we'll be with you in spirit. You're not alone, saiyan." _

_Gohan stared at Crimon for a moment and he nodded. "Thank you." He said softly. Crimon showed a hint of a smile that looked terrifying but it comforted Gohan in some way. _

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

_The boy suddenly reached up and showed his wrist. 'Freedom!' He mouthed to them. He showed the official Freedom Group sign by locking his thumbs together and spreading his fingers. The wings that represented their way out of this place. For now, Gohan was the only one who received the wings, but he knew the others would get them soon as well._

_The half-saiyan looked over his shoulder when Raditz called out to hurry up. He gave his old friends one more glance and realized that Oriko and Judin created the Freedom Sign together, awkwardly locking each other's thumbs together since they only had one free hand. Gohan grinned as he studied the four familiar faces one more time before he gave one last wave and turned to the gates. He ran to catch up with the others. _

_Gohan was going to enjoy walking out of the camp he'd been trying to leave for so long._

**Chapter 8. Meeting The Boss**

Gohan did not get to enjoy the amazing outdoor world for long since Vegeta steered the group into a building pretty much right away. The half-saiyan followed them into an elevator. The first thing Gohan realized was that there was a large mirror on one side of the elevator. The half-saiyan looked at his reflection for a moment. There were no mirrors in the camp. Nowhere. Gohan hadn't looked at his own reflection for a long time.

Now, he also realized something else, and that was how much he actually looked like the other three warriors. His dark brown hair, muscled build and brown furry tail were incredibly similar to the others. He fit right in. Nobody would know that he was only a half-saiyan. Nobody would know that he did not belong.

"I don't think vanity is a typical saiyan trade." Raditz stated as he looked at Gohan's reflection.

Gohan looked back at Raditz's reflection. "Sorry. It's just… There aren't any mirrors in camp. Aside from the reflection in the window I haven't seen my own appearance in a very long time."

Raditz nodded as he turned to the half-saiyan fully. "I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised when I saw how you looked. Appearances aren't everything but it's good that you look so much like a saiyan. There was a possibility that you would look like a human by now." Raditz watched as Gohan turned to his uncle. "It doesn't matter all that much since everyone will know what you are when they see your tail." Gohan looked down at his waist where his tail was curled around his body. "Now they will know that you are a true saiyan, and we saiyans are intimidating to most warriors."

"Yep." Gohan flinched when Nappa's hand landed on his head. "Especially your hair turned out to be very saiyan like. You look more like Raditz than you did back then." The man smirked a little when Gohan looked up at him. "Though the way you're shaking and shivering might make you a little less intimidating." He said in a teasing tone.

Gohan jerked his head out of Nappa's grip. "I'm not shaking and shivering." He snarled back. "You can't blame me for being tensed." The boy took a deep breath. How long was this elevator ride going to take?

"Very smart." Vegeta muttered. The man had his eyes closed and was listening to their conversation in silence until that moment.

"Nah, you have nothing to fear. You're our ally now and who would hurt their own ally?" Nappa asked, shrugging.

"We won't do anything unless you break our rules." Vegeta opened his eyes now and glanced at the half-saiyan, who was looking back at him. "The fact that you look so much like us will make it easier for us to recognize you from afar. Aside from that others will also recognize you as a saiyan, which will make it easier for us to find you when you decide to take an unauthorized trip."

"An unauthorized trip?" Gohan repeated.

A smirk appeared on Vegeta's face. "If you think you can continue your escape attempts while you're under our custody you are sadly mistaken." The man replied, noticing the cold look on Gohan's face. "If you put even one toe out of line I will step on it so hard that you won't be able to move it for months."

"You're putting such a damper on the mood, Vegeta." Nappa said cheerfully. "Half-breed's not going to do anything because he knows who's in charge," Nappa's hand landed on Gohan's shoulder and gave him an unnecessarily tight squeeze, "Right?"

Gohan winced at the pain in his shoulder and he nodded. " ." He replied uncertainly. Nappa patted Gohan's still throbbing shoulder and pulled away. The half-saiyan shifted sideways to create a little more distance between himself and Nappa. He was so confused. What did these guys want from him? One moment Nappa was cheerful and almost nice, and the next he was practically crushing Gohan's collarbone. The half-saiyan decided that he would have to be careful around them. He couldn't trust them.

The half-saiyan looked up at Raditz. "Where are we going?"

"We're leaving this planet right away so we're going to the SPC." Raditz responded before the doors of the elevator opened. The man noticed Gohan's blank stare and added: "The Space Pod Center."

Gohan followed them. "We're leaving the planet? So soon?"

Raditz sent the half-saiyan a smirk. "Haven't you been trying to get off this planet many times? How come you sound so hesitant to leave now?"

The half-saiyan realized the same thing. Everything was suddenly going so fast. This morning he woke up in his room in camp and now he was on his way to the space pod center, leaving the planet… And his friends…

Gohan shook his head to get those thoughts out of his head. Being sad was not going to help right now. A tail curled around Gohan's wrist and pulled him sideways. The half-saiyan nearly tripped over his feet.

Raditz made an annoyed sound with his mouth. "You almost ran into that group, brat. Pay attention." He said, his tail released Gohan's wrist and Raditz brushed over the area that touched Gohan's skin as if he was trying to brush the dirt off of it. Gohan looked over his shoulder and saw a group of warriors that was walking in the opposite direction. If Raditz hadn't pulled him aside he would have walked right into them.

Gohan followed them to a large room. The half-saiyan looked around with wide eyes. He could remember the space pod center a little bit. It was so much smaller than he remembered though, but it was still big. Gohan followed the three warriors to one of the elevators. The elevator was surrounded by glass entirely and Gohan studied the landing area of the center.

A space pod arrived while he was watching and it landed on one of the large pink cushions. Gohan watched with interest while the space pod opened and a warrior stepped out. Gohan gasped when the cushion swallowed the space pod.

"Did you see that?" Gohan asked as he pointed to the now empty cushion. "The space travelling machine disappeared."

"Space pod." Raditz corrected. "It didn't disappear. They're just setting aside so it can launch again later."

"That's amazing." Gohan muttered. He wondered if another space pod would land while they were there. He would like to see it.

The doors opened and Gohan followed them onto a gallery. The half-saiyan glanced into every doorway they passed and he noticed that every door led to a small dark room. A space pod was sitting next to a high table every time.

Vegeta stopped at number 23. "Number 23, 24, 25 and, 26 are ours. Half-breed, you can take 23. Raditz, explain the details to your nephew and take the remote so you can control the pod."

"Okay." Raditz nodded and he led Gohan to the room. Gohan gave the space pod a hesitant glance. It looked so small. Gohan noticed that the space pod was sitting in front of a narrow hallway that was exactly the same size as the pod. "Sit down." Raditz ordered. Gohan bent down and crawled into the space pod. He sat down on the chair, noticing it was rather uncomfortable, and he gave a hesitant look at all the buttons and screens around him.

Raditz leaned into the pod and pointed to a button. "In case of emergency, you press this red button. The pod will send out a signal and it will automatically make an emergency landing on the closest planet." He explained. "Don't touch anything else. We'll only be travelling for about an hour and I will keep an open conversation line with your pod while we travel. We need to get you a scouter once we arrive on Frieza's ship."

Raditz knelt down outside the ship and he reached out to grab the remote from the table. "I'm going to close the space pod now. Just wait until I am ready to launch. We're all leaving at the same time so that we can arrive together. I'll see you there." The man got up and pointed the remote at the space pod, pushing a button.

Gohan watched the door close and he immediately felt claustrophobic. He watched as Raditz walked out of the room and turned the corner, disappearing from Gohan's sight. The half-saiyan leaned his head back and clenched his fists. His breathing quickened and he could feel his heart beating. He did not want to travel in this small pod. It felt too dangerous. Why were they travelling in this?

"Half-breed?"

"Yes. I'm here." Gohan almost felt relieved. He realized that he was out of breath and he took a deep breath to calm himself.

"We're launching." Raditz said and Gohan felt that his space pod started to shiver. The half-saiyan tensed entirely as the space pod shot backwards. For a moment he could only see darkness and suddenly he could see the building, the outside area, the planet, and the planet was now getting smaller and smaller.

Gohan closed his eyes. He did not want to see the world outside the space pod. He did not want to know that he was travelling in a small machine. The walls of the pod were the only thing between him and space. He was floated in an endless vacuum in which he could not breathe or survive.

The half-saiyan was slightly annoyed by Raditz's lack of conversation. The man promised him he would talk to the half-saiyan throughout the trip but the man hadn't said anything since they departed. It wasn't like Gohan wanted to talk to the man but it was better than nothing.

The landing was rough. Gohan closed his eyes and tensed his body. This was just as horrible as he remembered. The young saiyan was still straining against the chair when the door of his space pod opened.

"Get out before you get swallowed along with the pod." Raditz called out. Gohan quickly crawled out of the space pod. He realized that they were standing in a smaller space pod center. There were only two landing cushions here so Raditz took Gohan aside where they could wait for the other two to land. Gohan watched as his space pod disappeared.

"Amazing." He muttered to himself.

Once Vegeta and Nappa joined them they started walking again. Gohan followed them in silence. He figured that they were going to a room of some sort where they could stay. Maybe the saiyans were planning on sparring already. He was eager to spar with them. He wanted to find out how he would do against them. Were they really as strong as Crimon always told him?

A hand curled around his upper arm and Gohan stopped. He glanced sideways, frowning when he noticed that someone was holding his arm.

"What do we have here?" The man who was holding onto him was tall. The man had a light-green skin and dark green hair, weaved into a long braid. The man looked rather feminine and Gohan figured girls would call him hansom. Gohan had to try not to shiver when he met the man's dark green orbs. The man's eyes travelled down to Gohan's waist and they widened somewhat in recognition. "You're a saiyan."

"Half-saiyan." Gohan corrected. He did not want to be a full-blooded one. He hated the saiyan race too much for that.

"Half, whole. Who cares? You all look the same." The man made a disgusted face. He pulled Gohan closer, forcing him to step forward, and bowed over him. "As a saiyan you should know your place. You see, saiyans are a little lower on the food chain than normal warriors. It's good if you learn how the status-quo works right now." The man eyed the half-saiyan with disdain. "Kneel before me, monkey."

Gohan ripped his arm free. "I'm not going to kneel for someone like you." He snarled back.

"You obviously need to learn some manners." The feminine man cracked his knuckles. "It's good that I love beating up saiyans." He said before he pulled back a fist. Gohan moved up his hands to protect his body but a fist curled into his long hair and pulled him backwards.

"Auch!" Gohan exclaimed. He noticed Vegeta was standing in front of him, and looked back to find that Raditz was still holding his hair.

"My apologies, Zarbon." Vegeta said, frowning. "The boy just recently joined us. He doesn't know his place yet." The man turned to Gohan. "Apologize." He ordered.

Gohan sent the saiyan a defiant glare. "Why should I? I didn't do anything…" Vegeta smacked him across the face. The half-saiyan's face snapped sideways and he had to take a step back.

"I said APOLOGIZE!" Vegeta barked at the half-saiyan.

Gohan turned to Zarbon. "I…I'm so..." He was interrupted by Vegeta's hand, which pressed down on his head and forced him to kneel down.

"Try again." Vegeta ordered.

"I apologize for my behavior, sir. It won't happen again." Gohan said quickly, hoping that Vegeta would release him, which the man did. Gohan glanced up at the saiyan. He knew that Vegeta was strict and that he was eager to hurt people but he didn't expect the man to hit him so quickly, and so hard. His cheek was still burning.

"I see you're still taming him." Zarbon reached down and placed his hand under Gohan's chin. He brought his hand up, taking Gohan to a standing position. The man tilted Gohan's face upwards and studied the boy. "And if he turns out to be a failure as a soldier you can always sell him on the slave market. Brats like this sell well." He taunted before he released the half-saiyan. "I'll be seeing you again, little monkey." He drawled before he walked off.

Vegeta turned to Gohan. "Hold him." He ordered. Gohan stepped back when Raditz and Nappa grabbed his arms and held him tight. The ten-year-old sent Vegeta a confused glance. He didn't do anything wrong, did he? Vegeta stepped closer and pulled back a fist. Gohan was punched so hard that his head snapped sideways until he neck creaked.

The next punch landed in his stomach, making Gohan gasp painfully for air. Vegeta added one more punch to his stomach before telling the others to release him. Gohan tried hard not to fall on his knees but he did have to lean on his knees with his hands. Vegeta reached out and made Gohan look up by placing his fingers under Gohan's chin.

"You will listen to us from now on, do you understand? If I say jump, you don't even ask me how high, you just jump to the best of your abilities, got it?" Vegeta barked into his face. Gohan nodded in response.

"I don't hear sign language."

"Yes sir." Gohan answered.

"Not sir. Vegeta." Vegeta responded before turning away from the half-saiyan. "Titles aren't necessary here."

Gohan was still recovering from the power he felt in Vegeta's punches. Raditz pushed against his back to make him start walking. The half-saiyan looked up when Nappa appeared next to him and squeezed his shoulder gently. "I can't believe you're already on Zarbon's hit list." He teased.

"I can't believe you angered him." Vegeta snarled over his shoulder. "He's going to whisper bad things in Frieza's ear now and that jerk will be even harder on you. He's already harder on us because of what we are."

"Saiyans." Gohan responded. "Why do they not like us?"

"There are many people who don't like saiyans." Raditz explained. "We're strong warriors. People don't like that."

"But that's not fair. I'm not a real saiyan." Gohan complained. A tail smacked against Gohan's hand and the half-saiyan yelped. He pulled his hand closer to his body and sent Nappa a disgruntled glance.

"That's what you get for denying your saiyan heritage." Nappa said, shrugging.

"Others will take one glance at your tail and figure you're a saiyan." Raditz said. "That's all they know. Now walk faster." He pushed against Gohan's back. "You're already being such a pain in the ass."

"We're here." Vegeta stopped in front of large black doors. "Now, boy, listen to me." Vegeta said as he turned to Gohan. "Only speak when he speaks to you and give short answers to his questions. Do everything he says, got it?"

Gohan nodded. "Yes, Vegeta." He replied. Vegeta nodded before he turned to the doorway. The doors suddenly opened and Gohan could only gasp at the large room they entered. The room was lit up by a row of metal wall lamps. A long walkway led to a throne on which Frieza was sitting.

Gohan studied the man with fear and curiosity. He felt a shiver run down his back when he first made eye-contact with the warrior. Frieza was small in posture. His pinkish skin was covered by a black armor. Gohan followed the others and knelt down when they did. The half-saiyan noticed that Zarbon was standing on one side of Frieza, smirking at the half-saiyan. Another man was standing on Frieza's other side. The man was bigger than the standard soldier and had many painful-looking spikes sticking out of his pink head.

"Lord Frieza." Vegeta started, looking down. "We came here to suggest a new addition to our team to you."

"Yes. I see." Frieza drawled as he studied the half-saiyan. "Come closer, boy." He ordered as his slender hand reached out and motioned for Gohan to approach him. The half-saiyan got up and walked closer to the man, stopping at a point he thought was close enough. "You spent a couple of years in the Iron Snake Camp, am I right?" Frieza got up himself. Apparently, the man only wanted Gohan to be separated from the rest so he could circle the half-saiyan.

"Yes, lord Frieza." Gohan replied, thinking the man would want him to answer verbally.

"Who was the father again? Raditz?" Frieza's eyes moved to the other Saiyans but his gaze returned to Gohan when the half-saiyan uttered a rather disgusted:

"No!"

Raditz allowed himself a small smirk when he heard the disgusted tone in Gohan's voice, but he didn't dare make any noise. He would have laughed out loud at Gohan's reaction in any other situation.

"Well then." Frieza heard Gohan's implied message as well and his tone was now rather amused. "Whoever your father was, I assume that he's not here because he is dead?"

"He is, sir." Gohan replied as a light blush appeared on his cheeks when he noticed what exactly he just said about Raditz. "Dead, that is."

"And you came from planet Earth, right?" Frieza nodded when Gohan gave a verbal confirmation of this. "And the planet has been destroyed or purged?"

Gohan looked over his shoulder, where Frieza now was. "I don't know, sir."

"He doesn't know. Do you know, Vegeta?" Frieza turned his back on Gohan to look at Vegeta. Gohan now turned sideways to watch Vegeta's reaction.

"The planet has been destroyed. We did so when we left." Vegeta responded.

"Good." Frieza turned back to Gohan and opened his mouth to ask another question but stopped when he noticed Gohan's expression. The half-saiyan was looking like his puppy just died. "Oh right. You didn't know. Well now you do." Frieza gave the half-saiyan an icy smile as he continued his circle around the boy and stopped in front of the Saiyan. "Don't tell me you're sad. Zarbon, do you happen to have any tissues? This kid looks like he's about to cry."

Zarbon snickered and opened his mouth to reply but Gohan was there first. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't know but I don't have any feelings towards the planet or its inhabitants. I haven't been there for years. There's nothing there for me." Gohan's tone was calm and monotone. He looked completely fine now.

Frieza studied Gohan for a moment. "Right. Well you seem just like the regular saiyan. I don't understand why I wasn't notified about your existence earlier." The man's tone was suddenly a lot colder, but Gohan realized that the man wasn't looking at him, but over his shoulder at Vegeta.

The saiyan prince bowed his head. "He was too young to fight so he had to be trained. We didn't want to bother you with insignificant problems."

Insignificant problems. Gohan pursed his lips. That was a nice way to be described.

Frieza nodded. "Well then why are you reporting your own pathetic achievements all the time?" The man ignored the glares he got from the three adults after that. Frieza turned his back on Gohan and the half-saiyan looked back at the others, wondering what to do.

A moment later Zarbon was standing in front of him. The man pulled back a fist and punched Gohan right off his feet. The half-saiyan moved his hands behind him to catch his fall. He crawled backwards when Zarbon tried to kick him. The other soldier Gohan later found out was called Dodoria made his move, appearing behind Gohan and pulling the half-saiyan up by his uniform.

Gohan kicked back, hitting Dodoria's stomach, and jumped up in the air. He landed on the other side of Dodoria and sent a questioning glance to Vegeta, but the man just glared back at him. He was on his own. The half-saiyan looked back to catch a punch from Zarbon. The man was eager to hit the boy, it was easy to see, but Gohan wasn't ready to lose just yet.

Gohan leaned back to avoid a punch when he realized that there was another fighter in the match. Dodoria appeared next to the half-saiyan and landed a punch. Gohan was thrown off his feet and he landed on the ground right in front of Frieza. Zarbon landed next to him, placing his foot on top of Gohan's head to keep him down.

"Ah, it's always good to see a saiyan in his rightful place." Frieza said coldly. The half-saiyan was still breathing hard as he lied on the ground. He was ready to get up but Zarbon was still pushing down on his head. "Very well. You can stay for now. Don't make me regret this decision, boy."

"Thank you, sir." Gohan managed to say. He did not know why he was thanking the man, but he figured this was what he was expected to do.

"Dear Zarbon. Isn't it about time you got off of him?" Frieza's gaze turned to the man. "Or are you already attached to the boy?"

Gohan groaned when Zarbon pressed down on his head. "Crushing a saiyan under my foot takes me back, lord Frieza. I have to admit that I had the pleasure of running into this one before. It's easy to see that he hasn't been tamed right yet."

"It's difficult for saiyans to behave like civilized warriors, you know that Zarbon." Frieza responded, smiling sweetly. "Don't be hard on the boy. He will learn his place in time."

Gohan let out a breath when Zarbon stepped away from him. The boy quickly got up. What the hell was going on here? These people were supposed to be the leaders of the Planet Trade Organization? This was supposed to be the great Frieza the specialists always spoke about? He was nothing more than a bully and he seemed to dislike Gohan just for what he was. Did he treat all his soldiers like this?

"You're dismissed." Frieza said, waving them away.

Gohan stared at the man for a moment but a hand locked around his shoulder and forced him to turn around. Gohan followed his comrades to a long hallway with many doorways. Vegeta placed his hand on a scanner to open the room and Gohan looked around curiously.

The room they entered was small. There were four beds, two on either side of the door and they had to walk through the narrow area between them to reach a small open area. Gohan looked at the two benches that were connected to the wall. A small table was standing in front of the benches.

"Where are we?" Gohan asked, looking up at Raditz.

"Our private room." Raditz responded briefly.

Gohan did not really know what to do. The others did not seem to be paying attention to him so Gohan took a moment to study the room. Four beds… Four? But… It was their private room. Why were there four beds in their private room if there were only three saiyans? Did they already add a bed for him? How long had they been preparing for his arrival?

"Why are there four beds here?" Gohan asked, interrupting the conversation of the adults.

"Why are you bothering us with stupid questions?" Raditz snarled back. Turning back, the adults continued their conversation as if nothing happened.

Gohan blew out a sigh and continued his observation. There was a window. The boy looked outside, finding the idea that they were floating in space so strange. All he could see was darkness outside. Gohan nearly bumped his leg against the bench that was sealed to the wall. On the other wall he saw several small closets. Gohan opened one of the cabinets and realized the area was cold. A refrigerator? There was nothing in there. He closed the door and tried to open another one but this one would not open. Every closet had a lock but only a few of them worked. There were four closed lockers, one refrigerator and one open cabinet.

The half-saiyan decided to sit down on the bench. What was he supposed to do in a situation like this? What kind of situation was he in in the first place? He wasn't really kidnapped. He followed the others to this room. Even though he did not want to be here, they were not holding him here against his will… Well… They were actually, but he was not tied up or limited in any way. He could just walk out that door…. Could he?

Gohan got off the bench and walked to the door. He was about to place his hand on the keypad when a low voice earned his attention.

"Don't even think about it." Nappa called over. Gohan turned to his comrades. "You're not leaving this room."

"Why not?"

"You're already weak. Please don't tell me you're stupid too." Nappa mocked before he sat down on the bench.

Gohan made a helpless gesture. "What am I supposed to do then?" They did not give him any tips or orders.

"Sit. Meditate. Whatever, as long as you're quiet and in this room." Nappa replied briefly before turning back to Vegeta. The two sat down on the bench and waited for Raditz to get something from one of the locked cabinets. Gohan watched with curiosity as Raditz typed in a password and opened the locker before pulling out some papers and closing it again.

The man approached his comrades, sat down on the second bench and handed the papers to Vegeta, who immediately started to point at certain areas and they continued their hushed conversation.

"Meditate?" Gohan repeated. "That's the most boring thing a person could do." He complained. "I don't want to meditate. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it." Anything was better than doing nothing.

Vegeta looked up now. Raditz and Nappa had both been brushed aside by the half-saiyan so now the leader would take care of the problem. "Go to bed, half-breed." He ordered.

"Bed? Why?"

The saiyan prince gave the papers to Raditz and got up. "You're still a brat. You need your sleep. We are going to finish this up and then we're going to sleep for about five hours before we leave for your first mission." Vegeta tapped against the empty locker. "This is your locker. It's programmed to accept the first combination it encounters. You just need to make up a password, enter it and close the locker. Choose wisely because that will be your password for the rest of your life."

"I have my own locker?" Gohan questioned as Vegeta walked to the four beds.

The man pointed up at one of the beds. "That's your cot. Take a good rest. You'll need it. We'll only be travelling for about a week so we probably won't use the sleeping gas for the trip." An amused glint appeared in Vegeta's eyes. "Prepare yourself, boy. The first few days of the murderer college are the hardest." The man patted Gohan's shoulder as if he just congratulated Gohan on something important before he moved back to his comrades.

Gohan sighed but he decided to take Vegeta's advice. The boy walked to the locker, entered the same password he used on the camp and closed it. He did not own anything but at least he had a locker. Now he just needed to find things to put in it.

The half-saiyan looked up at the bed and he floated up to it. Gohan sat down, sent a hesitant glance to the other warriors, who were working again, and lay down. He closed his eyes, hoping he would fall asleep soon.

It wasn't long before the others were done and ready to go to bed. Vegeta did not waste time and crawled into his bed. The one opposite Gohan.

Raditz rubbed over his stomach. "I'm hungry. I'm going to get something to eat." He announced.

"I'm coming with you." Nappa said as he followed the other saiyan. They both sent Vegeta a questioning glance.

"Someone has to keep an eye on the brat." Vegeta said as he nodded to the bed opposite him.

"He's asleep." Raditz answered as his eyes moved to his nephew.

"He can wake up." Vegeta countered. Raditz shrugged and opened the door. Nappa followed him after Vegeta ordered him to bring something back for him. The door closed behind them and a silence fell in the room. Vegeta eyed the silent figure in the small bed on the other side on the room.

The man got up and floated closer to Gohan's bed. He leaned over the young boy to look at his face. Vegeta reached out and caressed Gohan's cheek. "I know you're awake." He said. "You can fool the others but I'm not that stupid. I can read someone's face and body without any trouble. I'll find your weaknesses and break you down. You can fight me but you'll give in eventually. Nobody wins from me."

Vegeta gently brushed through Gohan's hair and leaned in to sniff Gohan's scent. "I can smell fear, half-breed. It smells delicious. I can't wait to smell your mixture of fear." Vegeta eyed Gohan's still sleeping face. "Have a good night's rest. You'll need it. I'll see you tomorrow." Vegeta smirked as he pulled back and floated back to his own bed. While the man sat down on his bed Gohan opened his eyes. The boy suppressed a shiver as he stared at the wall.

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

Gohan swallowed as he put his hands together above Vegeta's chest. Gohan had been lying awake for the past hour, wondering how to do this and gathering courage, but he was ready now. He would do it. He was going to kill Vegeta in his sleep.

He prepared an energy blast. One quick blast to the heart and Vegeta would be dead in a second. He knew it was cowardly but Vegeta was rather strong and Gohan could not afford Nappa and Raditz waking up. The boy could feel his hands were trembling a little. It would be the first kill. His first time. Why was this so difficult? Vegeta was a bastard. He just wanted to use Gohan for his own benefit. He didn't care about the half-saiyan at all.

So why was this so difficult?

Gohan hesitated and the blast in his hands diminished a bit. Should he do this? He'd kill Vegeta and then… take out Nappa and Raditz? Could he do that? And what about Frieza and his henchmen? Would they just let him go?

The boy lowered his hands. Maybe he should wait. Get them to trust him and then kill them when they least expected it. Gohan shook his head and raised his hands to Vegeta's chest again. No. He had to do it now.

A hand curled around Gohan's wrist and Vegeta opened his eyes. The half-saiyan gasped as Vegeta pulled Gohan down and pushed himself up, curling Gohan's arm on his back and pressing the half-saiyan down on the thin mattress.

"Well well, the little puppy finally shows its claws." Vegeta hissed into Gohan's ear. The boy growled in response as he tried to pull his arm free but Vegeta only tightened his grip.

"Why didn't you do it?" Vegeta asked as he put more pressure on Gohan's arm. The half-saiyan felt like it was going to pop out of his shoulder blade soon.

"I wasn't planning on doing anything." Gohan snarled back. "Let me go!" His feet kicked awkwardly in the air.

Vegeta laughed at his response. "I'm not a fool, boy. You wanted to kill me during my sleep but something stopped you." Gohan managed to push his body up on his free arm but Vegeta's tail knocked Gohan's arm away, forcing the boy to fall back onto the mattress.

The man placed a knee on the bed so he could lean on it and didn't have to put his full weight on the half-saiyan. It was easier this way, and he didn't want to be that close to a filthy hybrid. Gohan continued to struggle, which was rather tiring, so Vegeta grabbed Gohan's chin and forced the boy to look up so high that he let out an involuntary groan.

The man leaned over the boy. "If you don't strop struggling, I'm going to break your neck, got it?"

"You won't kill me because you still need me to become your perfect little soldier, right?" Gohan snarled up at him, finding it somewhat difficult to talk when manhandled in this way.

Vegeta smirked back at him. "Are you willing to bet your life on that?"

Gohan contemplated this for a moment. Did he trust Vegeta with his life? The answer was clear when Gohan relaxed. Vegeta released his chin and allowed Gohan to move his head around so he could ease the hurting muscles in his neck.

"Why didn't you do it?" Vegeta asked again.

Gohan hesitated. "I wasn't doing any…STOP." Gohan snarled at the man when Vegeta pushed against his elbow, putting more strain on his arm.

"Don't lie to me, half-breed. It's such a waste of time." Vegeta stopped pushing against Gohan's elbow but kept it in this very painful position.

"I couldn't do it." Gohan replied, trying hard not to sound like he was in pain.

Vegeta eased the pressure on Gohan's elbow. "You haven't killed before, have you?" The man asked.

Gohan pressed his lips together for a moment before he answered. "It's none of your business AUCH." Again, Vegeta already punished Gohan before he could even answer the question fully by grabbing his cheek and pinching it harshly. The boy had never felt anything like it. Nobody had ever done that to him, not even the specialists.

"Who said I don't know how to handle bad children?" Vegeta teased as he released Gohan's cheek. "I know exactly what to do." The boy squeezed his eyes shut when Vegeta pinched his cheek again. "It got you talking last time, remember?"

"What?"

"I did the exact same thing when a certain four-year-old refused to answer my questions truthfully." Vegeta explained.

"Did you now?" Gohan frowned as he stared ahead. "I can't remember."

"That means I didn't pinch hard enough back then." Vegeta muttered, actually sounding like he was chastising himself.

"Let me go, Vegeta." Gohan snarled over his shoulder. "You win. You've had your fun. It's over."

The boy groaned when Vegeta pinched in his cheek again, harder this time. The half-saiyan could still feel his cheek burning even when Vegeta released it. "Do you really think you'll get away with attempting to kill me?" He asked as he pulled back. "Are you really that stupid?"

"I will succeed one day." Gohan said as he looked up.

"Hmmm." Vegeta pushed against Gohan's elbow again. "But for now you're still too weak to be capable of murder." The man smirked when Gohan let out another pained sound. "And you're too weak to overpower me." The man leaned in closer while he applied even more pressure on Gohan's arm. "If you try something like this again I will personally break both your legs and arms, got it?"

"Yes." Gohan groaned out. "I got it."

"Good." Vegeta released the boy and floated back to give Gohan more room to get up. "Go back to your cot." He ordered, watching as Gohan got up as well and got off the bed. The man gave the boy an encouraging push against his back, forcing Gohan to almost slam into the side of his own bed.

Gohan crawled onto his bed and sat down on it. Vegeta lay back down and closed his eyes. "Oh, and don't think this is over, boy. We will talk about this during our first training." He said, opening one eye to glare at Gohan.

"Are you two done now?" Nappa growled. "Ugh. I enjoyed the morning performance but the show has been going on for too long now."

"You should have said something right from the beginning when the boy got out of his bed." Raditz replied. "Would have saved us a lot of trouble."

"But it wouldn't have been as amusing now would it?" Nappa said as a smirk appeared on his face. "Though next time, half-breed, you could do without the suspense before you actually make the kill."

Gohan hugged his legs to his chest and hid his face behind them. He thought they were all asleep but in reality they'd followed his every move from the moment he got out of his own bed. Why had he been so stupid?

"One hour before we get up, guys. Make it count." Vegeta said before yawning. The man turned away from Gohan.

The earth-born saiyan decided to take Vegeta's advice and he slowly let his body sink sideways onto his pillow. The young warrior willed this world and the three adults away. He closed his eyes tightly and hoped he could fall into a deep sleep, but his body refused. In about an hour, they would all get up again. He would have to face them and now he actually got them angry. Gohan suppressed a sigh. The young warrior drifted off to a slumber and exactly one hour later, Vegeta woke them all up.

It was time for them to leave for Gohan's first mission.

****** DBZ **** DBZ ******

**Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it!**


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